Kesenai Tsumi
by Rioko Kimura
Summary: Kirina is a girl whose memory fades in and out. She becomes friends with Ed and Al, but will a song and a couple of humonculi be their undoing? Part one in a four part series. Finished at last!
1. Chapter 1

A distant voice is heard. The voice of a young girl. It is an anguished cry. Along with those words comes a song. A song that describes the girl's feelings. A song that her loved ones used to sing.

She lies, bleeding and singing, moving no muscle except her mouth. Her eyes have faded in color. This little one, who wanted them back, tried to bring them back.

It did not work.

She tilts her head towards the heavens and starts to sing . . .

"Itsumo no shisen ni kimi ga ite kokyuu ga dekiru

Boku ni totte nara Sore dake de

Mou Juubun na hazu na no ni

Chippoke na boku wa kurikaesu ayamachi bakari

Dorehodo tsuyosa wo te ni shitara

Nani mo kizutsukezu sumu no?

Mayowazu ni Kono ai wo shinji ikiteyuku

Fusagaranu kizuguchi mo gyu'tto dakishimete

Futari wa aruki-tsuzukeru Ato ni wa modorenai kara

Ima demo kono mune no oku Kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo

Darling . . ."

The song fades.

_Welcome to my second fanfiction. Please comment and tell me how much it sucks._

_Fullmetal Alchemist and all its characters in it belongs to Hiromu Arakawa._

_"Kesanai Tsumi" belongs to Nana Kitade._


	2. Mysterious Girl

Mysterious Child

Tim Marcoh sighed. It had been an awful day. Being cooped up in a dark lab with only chemicals as your friends wasn't exactly a fun day. He walked along a well-used dirt road. However, no one was using it at the moment. It was almost dark. The sun cast a red glow on the ground. It was peaceful and the only sounds were those of birds chirping. Or was it? Marcoh heard the sound of pitiful coughing and wheezing.

"Is someone there?" he called.

Coughing was the only response. Marcoh headed toward the source of it. It was coming from a ditch. He was expecting to find a soldier who had collapsed by the roadside. What he found made he gasp. It was a little girl. Her hair was matted with mud, so he couldn't quite tell what color it was. Her raggedy dress was dirty and made of rough material. Her arms and legs were covered with bloody lacerations. Her coughing was loud and made her entire little body shake.

Marcoh walked down the ditch and knelt next to her.

"Are you all right?"

The little girl didn't, or couldn't, answer. Her breathing was very loud and labored.

_I can't leave her by the side of the road, _Marcoh thought and picked her up.

It was then that he noticed another odd feature. The girl's toes were made out of auto-mail.

"She has a terrible fever," Marcoh murmured, putting a wet cloth on the little girl's forehead. "I wonder who would be so heartless as to abandon a child by the side of the rode."

The little girl moaned and opened her eyes. Marcoh smiled at her.

"Hello," he said. "Are you awake?"

"Who are you?" she asked in a tiny voice, sitting up. She opened her mouth to say something else, but only a loud cough came out.

"Easy, easy," Marcoh said gently. "Lie down and get some rest."

"Mister, where are my parents? Where am I?"

"I don't know. I didn't see them. As for where you are, this is my home."

The little girl sat up and got out of the bed. "I have to go," she said. "Thank you for your kindness."

The little girl's knees shook and she collapsed on the ground. In a weak attempt to leave, she started to drag herself to the door.

"Whoa, whoa!" Marcoh said, putting his hands on her shoulders and picking her up. "You're in no position to be looking for anybody, young lady. It's dark outside and you're sick. I don't want you to get even sicker and have your cuts open up again."

She stared at her arms. "You bandaged them up. Thank you, but what about my parents? They must be worried about me."

"Hold on. I'll get someone to watch over you and look for them myself."

Marcoh walked toward another building and opened the door.

"Flame Alchemist," he said, "would you do me a favor?"

Roy Mustang looked up. "What is it, Crystal Alchemist?"

"I need you to watch over a little girl for me."

Mustang's eyes widened. "Little girl! I didn't know you---"

"She's not my daughter or anything. I found her by the side of the road and she's very sick. I just need you to watch her until I find her family."

"She's not a war refugee, is she? You do know what that jackass Colonel Gran will do to you if she is."

Marcoh nodded. "I know, but I don't think she's a refugee. When I found her, she had lacerations on her arms and legs. It almost seemed like someone had tried to kill her and left her in a ditch to die."

"Really? That's strange. Who would have a grudge against a little girl?"

"I don't know, but can you watch her?"

"Yeah, yeah," Mustang responded. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

"Come. She's in my room."

The two State Alchemists gasped. The little girl was scrubbing the floor.

"What are you doing?" Marcoh asked. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

"I'm sorry," the little girl said. "I just wanted to do something to repay you for your kindness. And I noticed that one of my wounds had reopened and bloodied your floor, so I'm trying to clean it up."

"It's all right," Marcoh said softly as he bandaged up the wound again. "Don't worry about that now."

The little girl pointed at Mustang. "Who is this person?"

"I'm Roy Mustang."

The little girl curtsied. "How do you do, Mr. Mustang?"

Mustang noticed that her arms and legs were covered with slightly bloody bandages. He winced a little, wondering what happened.

"What's your name, little girl?" Mustang asked, kneeling in front of her so they could see eye to eye.

"I don't know," she responded.

"How old are you?"

"I don't know. Four? Five?"

"You're really tiny, you know that, right?"

If they had been standing side by side, the little girl wouldn't even have reached Mustang's knee.

"If you can't remember your name, I'll call you Kirina for now. Is that all right?" Marcoh asked.

Kirina nodded. "It's a pretty name, but what does it mean."

"It means 'beautiful girl'."

"Really?"

"'Kirei' is Japanese for beautiful and 'nina' is Spanish for girl. If you combine those two words, you get 'Kirina'." Marcoh smiled. "All right. You get some rest. I'll go look for your parents."

"Okay. Bye-bye."

Mustang closed the door and picked up Kirina.

"All right, little girl," he said, tucking her into bed. "You get some rest now."

Kirina started coughing violently. "I'm sorry if you had something to do today and had to cancel it because of me."

"It's okay." Mustang knelt in front of the fireplace and snapped his fingers. Soon, a warm fire was crackling in it.

"You're an alchemist, Mr. Mustang?" Kirina asked.

Mustang nodded. "How did you know?"

"I noticed that your gloves were made of a material that is a catalyst in fire alchemy. I believe it is called ignition cloth." Kirina covered her mouth to suppress her cough. "And your gloves are marked with a transmutation circle for changing oxygen density."

Mustang tried to hide his surprise. "Did you know anybody who was an alchemist?"

Kirina's eyes drooped a little. "I don't remember," she said, yawning a little. "Why don't I remember . . .?"

Kirina sighed and fell asleep.

_She has green eyes, so she's not an Ishbalan child, _Mustang thought. _She doesn't look like a child from any of the neighboring tribes. This child is indeed a mystery._

"I couldn't find anything," Marcoh said with disappointment. "I went all around the area and described her in the best way I could, but no one knew anything."

"Well, it's not like they're a bunch of people left," Mustang said, sipping a drink. "The military has wiped out most of the people here."

"All those poor people." Marcoh hid his head in his hands in desperation. "There's no real reason for what we're doing this, is there?"

Mustang turned to Kirina, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Her fever had gone down in the last few weeks and she seemed to be feeling better. She wasn't dirty anymore. A female officer had given her a bath and a hand-me-down dress. Without all the dirt, everyone could see she was indeed a pretty child. Her short hair was thick, black, and smooth and her wide eyes a shiny, dark green. No one understood why anyone would abandon her by the side of the road.

"How long are you going to keep this child?" Mustang asked. "Sure, the people around here don't care, but if the higher-ups find out you're harboring a child, you'll get into deep trouble."

Marcoh felt a tug at his sleeve. Kirina was staring up at them with a thoughtful look on her face.

"I should leave right now," she whispered. "I wouldn't want you to get in trouble. Everyone here has been so kind to me. It'd be wrong for them to get in trouble just for being kind."

"Oh, no, Kirina," Marcoh said picking her up and placing her on his knee. "You shouldn't be worrying about these things. You leave such matters to the adults, okay?"

"Okay," Kirina responded reluctantly.

_Behold the only character I own: Kirina. Even at this point, I'm not sure what's going to happen (What am I saying? I wrote this thing.) Some of these chapters will be parts of Kirina's diary, describing momentous events that I don't feel like describing. Just warning you ahead of time, okay?_


	3. A Year Later

"Excuse me, who's the leader here?" Kirina asked, tugging on the shirt of a State Alchemist.

The alchemist sank to one knee to see eye to eye with her. "And who are you?"

"My name is Kirina Miracle," she said, curtsying. "What's your name, sir?"

"I am Alex Louis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist."

"That's a nice name, Mr. Armstrong."

"Thank you," he said, smiling. "Now, why are you looking for the person in charge?"

"I want to request permission to stay here. I promise to work hard and help people."

"Help them with what?"

"I could do chores so all the other alchemists will be able to do their work without worrying about cleaning up."

Armstrong gave it some thought. "All right. Take my hand and come with me."

Kirina hid behind Armstrong, trying not to draw attention. Since she was so small, no one really noticed her. Armstrong stopped before a door and knocked.

"Fuhrer, there's someone who wishes to speak with you."

"Send him in," voice called.

Kirina looked up at Armstrong with a slightly frightened look in her eyes.

"It's all right. Don't worry. I'll be outside if you need me."

"Okay."

Kirina opened the door and silently slipped inside. At first, the Fuhrer didn't seem to notice her.

"Um. . ."

The Fuhrer looked around. "Who's there?"

Kirina walked up to his desk. "Um, it's me."

"Oh, and who is 'me', little girl?" the Fuhrer asked with a smile.

Kirina relaxed a little. This person seemed so kind.

"I'm Kirina Miracle and I was wondering if I could stay here."

"Here? But you're not an alchemist, are you, Kirina?"

Kirina shook her head. "No, but I'm learning."

"Learning?"

"The truth is I've been here for about a year now. I've watched all the other alchemists and have learned a little."

"What have you learned? Can you show me?"

"Well, uh, is there anything here that's broken or needs cleaning?"

"The vase in that corner is cracked. Can you fix it?"

Kirina swallowed nervously and slowly walked over to the vase. The crack was long and the vase old and frail.

_I don't think it would be wise to use chalk, _she thought.

Slowly, Kirina licked her finger and drew a transmutation circle on the surface. Taking a deep breath, she tapped her fingers on the surface. After a big flash of light, the vase was as good as new.

Kirina turned around at the sound of clapping. The Fuhrer was smiling at her and clapping his hands.

"Impressive, Kirina," he said. "After that display of alchemic genius, of course you can stay."

"Oh, thank you!" Kirina said. "I promise I'll do all the cooking and cleaning and---"

"No, no, Kirina. You misunderstand. You won't be working as a maid. I'm going to apprentice you to one of the alchemists here. Now, which area of alchemy is your favorite?"

"I don't know much about areas. I've always liked crystals, though."

"Crystal alchemy? Well, I do believe we have a crystal alchemist in our midst."

"You mean Mr. Marcoh?" Kirina asked.

"Oh? You know him?"

"Not exactly," Kirina lied. "I've seen him, though."

"Good. Why don't you go to him? Tell him the Fuhrer sent you."

Kirina nodded and smiled. "Okay. Thank you once again."

The Fuhrer watched her leave. He stared at the laceration scars, frowning. He shook his head and sighed.

Kirina burst out the door, smiling.

"How did it go?" Armstrong asked.

Kirina gave him a hug. "He said I could stay! Thank you for showing me where to find him. I got to go home now. Bye-bye!"

"Mr. Marcoh! Mr. Marcoh!" Kirina said, opening the tent flap with a smile. "Guess what? I --- Huh?" Kirina's smile faded.

Marcoh looked up from the table. "Oh, hello, Kirina. Where were you?"

"Were you sleeping?" Kirina walked over to him, reached up, and felt his forehead. She gasped. "You're burning up!"

"I'm all right. Don't worry about me. What were you going to say?"

"Um, I went to see the Fuhrer and requested permission to stay."

"Stay! Didn't he tell you this will soon become a potentially dangerous war zone?" Marcoh demanded. "It's no place for a frail little girl like you!"

Kirina frowned. "Well, it's no place for an ill alchemist like you!" she shouted. "How can you do alchemy if you're sick? After spending a year here, I already know about alchemy and all its principles. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return, right? You took care of me when I was sick and now it's my turn to do the same."

"Kirina . . ."

Kirina sighed. "Forgive me for yelling. Now, please go to bed. I'll cook something up."

"Kirina, don't be ridiculous. You can't cook."

Kirina smiled. "I'll figure something."

At that moment, two alchemists came into the room.

"Hello, Mr. Mustang," Kirina said, dipping into a curtsy. "Hello, sir."

Colonel Gran frowned at Kirina. "You're the whelp that has been apprenticed to the Crystal Alchemist?"

_Apprenticed? _Marcoh thought.

"Yes, I am."

Mustang's eyes widened. "You went to see the Fuhrer by yourself?"

"Well, an alchemist helped me find the way. He was very nice."

Gran turned to Marcoh. "What are you doing lying in bed? Resting? You know you need to go inspect the Quarry Valley today. Oh, and I suggest you bring some sulfur and red phosphorus."

"Colonel Gran, with all do respect I don't think---" Mustang began.

"Be quiet, Flame Alchemist. It's his fault for getting sick. The Ishbalans are rising up. They're becoming an even more serious threat every day. We need that thing very soon."

"No!" Kirina cried, grabbing Gran's hand. "He needs to rest. I'll go get what you need. I'll do all the work. I swear. Mr. Marcoh has already taught me some alchemy so---"

Suddenly, everyone in the room heard a loud cracking sound. Marcoh and Mustang gasped. Trembling, Kirina looked up at Gran, her hand on her swollen cheek.

"Stop talking nonsense, you brat!" Gran shouted at her. "You think you can do all the work? Well, do you!"

Marcoh stood up. "Kirina---"

"Yes, I do!" Kirina snapped, standing up. "I know I can do it if I tried."

Gran slapped her again, knocking her down. "You don't even know what you're talking about! You're like an ignorant cockroach that needs to be stomped on."

"You don't know what _you're _talking about!" Kirina snapped, standing back up again. "Tell me why you're in this war? What's the point of all this hate? What's the point of killing innocent people?"

Gran grabbed the little girl by the collar of her dress. "You know what happened to the last person who talked to me this way?"

"What?"

"I broke them in half!"

"Then go ahead!"

"Kirina, what's wrong with you?" Marcoh asked. "Colonel Gran, please, let her go. She doesn't know what she's talking about. She's just a little girl."

"Don't interfere, Mr. Marcoh!"

Marcoh backed down. _This child. When did she become so strong?_

"What are you waiting for, Mr. Gran?" Kirina challenged. "You said you were going to break me in half. Go ahead. I dare you!"

Gran glared at the little girl. With a loud growl, he hurled her to the ground.

"Kirina!" Marcoh exclaimed and picked her up. "Are you all right?"

"He's a liar," Kirina whispered. "Mr. Gran, you failed to break me in half."

"Crystal Alchemist, I expect to have those minerals by sunset!" Gran barked, completely ignoring Kirina. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Gran left. Mustang rushed over to Kirina and Marcoh.

"Kirina, what the hell is wrong with you?" he asked. "Colonel Gran is someone you don't want to mess with."

"He's a coward," Kirina mumbled. "I'm not afraid of cowards. Or death. Or anything else for that matter."

Marcoh sighed. "What am I going to do with you? Kirina, the military isn't a place were you just say whatever's on your mind. You take orders and don't question your superiors."

"Well, I'm not a puppet, Mr. Marcoh. Why should I take orders from a coward? I bet he's never even been near a battleground before. And if he has, it was from a discreet distance where all he does is bark orders."

"Flame Alchemist, would you mind taking care of her? I need to go get the things Colonel Gran requested."

"Wait!" Kirina cried in such a loud voice that the two alchemists in the room became startled. "Don't go away! I'll go get them."

"But, Kirina, the Quarry Valley is no place for a little girl like you. It's dangerous and---"

Kirina grinned and walked outside. "I'll be back by sunset!"

Mustang watched the little girl leave. _She's so bony, _he thought. _So frail and thin. It really was a miracle she survived. _He turned to Marcoh and laughed. "She's really brave for someone so little. I've never seen Gran so upset. He looked like he was going to pop."

Marcoh remained solemn. "She's very outspoken. I admire that, but I can't say that I'll be able to keep her safe if she continues like that. Colonel Gran didn't show any mercy when he was hitting her. I hate to think what he might do to her next time."

Kirina chewed her lip and stared down at the Quarry Valley.

"It sure is a long way down."

Getting to the valley had been easy. Going down it was going to be another story.

Kirina took a step at the edge. A couple of rocks fell down. Suddenly, Kirina felt nauseous as she stared at the dark bottom. She backed away from its edge and sank to her knees.

"I can't do this," she said. "I'm too scared."

At that moment, Gran's words came to her mind.

"_You're like an ignorant cockroach that needs to be stomped on."_

Kirina grinned. "So, I'm a cockroach, eh? I might as well live up to my reputation."

Slowly, Kirina eased her way toward the edge of the cliff and inspected it. She wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, yeah. There's definitely sulfur here. Something must be down there. It smells like rotten eggs and that only happens when sulfur is burned."

Kirina found a vine and slowly eased herself down the narrow cliff. After a few feet, she banged her forehead on a sharp rock.

"Owie," she mumbled and rubbed her forehead. Kirina blinked when she felt something wet on her fingers. "Uh-oh. It's blood."

At that moment, something snapped. With a startled cry, Kirina realized it was the vine. Kirina shrieked and fell down the dark cliff.

Marcoh rubbed his head and stared at the stack of books and papers before him.

"You really should take it easy," a voice said.

Marcoh looked up and saw an unfamiliar person standing at the window. This person had undistinguishable features, but from the voice, Marcoh could tell it was a woman.

"Who are you?" Marcoh asked, backing away from the window.

The woman looked up and peered at Marcoh with colorless eyes.

"How do you say 'alchemy' in Greek?"

"How should I know?"

The young woman hopped off the windowsill and neared the table. She looked over the papers and then looked back up.

"It's Khumeia," she said in a slightly raspy voice. "My name is Khumeia."

"What do you want?"

Khumeia smiled. "You sound deeply frightened. I'm merely looking for Kimiya."

"Kimiya?"

"Ah, I see you don't know her." Khumeia grinned and hopped toward the window. "Well, I'll be seeing you." Halfway out, she turned around. Her smile was replaced by a look of complete seriousness. "It's easy to create a human using alchemy. It's not easy to generate a soul. Be careful not to commit a kesenai tsumi."

"Kesenai tsumi? How do you know this?"

Khumeia smiled slowly. "It might have something to do with Kirina. Ta-ta."

"Wait!" Marcoh said. "What do you know about Kirina?"

Too late. The woman was gone.

Kirina moaned and tried sitting up. She felt dizzy and her moves were slightly uncoordinated.

"Oh, no," she said, gripping a branch that stuck out of the side of the cliff. "I must've fallen down. Where am I?"

Kirina looked up, wincing. The top of the cliff was nearly seven miles up. Kirina bit her lip and touched her head. It felt wet and Kirina didn't need to look at it to know it was blood. It already smelled and nearly overpowered the scent of burning sulfur.

"Mr. Marcoh is going to scold me for this," she thought.

After walking a little, Kirina discovered a zigzag path that led straight down. Going down was going to be easy from now on. At least that's what Kirina thought.

"Ugh, it smells!" she mumbled, gagging.

The further down she went, the more it smelled of rotting eggs. The scent was too much for anyone. Kirina sank to her knees and covered her nose and mouth. She looked up and saw everything was blurry.

_I can't give up. I'll show Mr. Gran. I'll show everyone I'm not an ignorant cockroach. _

The farther down she went, the more it smelled. Kirina had to stop every few minutes just to barf. It really was bad! However, she soon saw a yellow glow.

_Sulfur!_

Kirina picked up a large piece of sulfur. With a cry, she dropped it. It was hot and had burned her hand. Kirina looked at the welts already forming on her palm and fingertips. Kirina undid her bloody hair ribbon and wrapped the sulfur in it. It still felt hot, but not as bad as before. Kirina walked to the other side to pick up the red phosphorus. The phosphorous was there, all right. The only problem was that it was brown, not red.

_Now what do I do? Wait. I think I can make it red._

With her blood, Kirina drew a transmutation circle around a rock the size of her hand.

_Please work._

Kirina concentrated on the stone. There was a big burst of red light. When it was gone, in her Kirina's hands lay a perfect red phosphorous stone. Smiling, Kirina trudged up to the top of the cliff. By the time she got there, she was extremely exhausted.

"Come on, Kirina," she whispered. "You made it down a cliff that smelled worse than a latrine. You can definitely make it home."

However, the more she walked the weaker she become. Kirina fell on the ground. The soft earth was so inviting. The chirp of the crickets seemed to be a sort of lullaby. The stars were her nightlight. She could sleep here. Yes, sleep sounded nice and it would be welcome at exactly this moment. Kirina felt her eyelids droop. At that moment, she remembered the events of earlier.

_Mr. Marcoh. Mr. Mustang. I can't fail. I won't. If it comes to that, I'll crawl home._

Kirina tried to stand, but couldn't any more. All she could do was crawl, and that was difficult because she was already weak and had two large stones in each hand. With each pull, she felt weaker than before. Her eyesight was diminishing. Her hair and back were sticky with blood and smelled pretty badly.

"I can . . . make it," she said, breathing hard. "I will. I know . . . I will."

After hours of excruciating pain, Kirina was ready to give up when she came upon the camp. Smiling happily, Kirina forced herself to crawl all the way. She came upon the doorstep and that's when her strength gave out. Kirina collapsed on the doorstep. She really couldn't move now, no matter how much her mind wanted. Her body just didn't have the strength to obey.

"These rocks," Kirina whispered.

Kirina pushed one to the door, hoping the sound was loud enough.

_I'm sorry, Mr. Marcoh. I said I was going to be home by sundown, but it's practically the next day. I'm really sorry. . ._

Growing even dizzier, Kirina began to hear something. It was a human voice, no doubt, but it didn't seem as though the person was talking. This sound seemed melodic and had a tune. What was it called? Singing? Music? Kirina heard one word. Slowly, to taste the feel of it, she said it out loud.

"Kesenai . . ."

Inside, Marcoh heard the sound of light tapping. He opened the door and gasped.

"Kirina!"

Kirina looked up. "I'm sorry. . ."

The cry startled the rest of the people who were inside. These people were Mustang and Armstrong. They came rushing to the door and saw the little girl with her bloodstained clothes and the trail of blood that went from the doorstep to who knows where.

"Oh, my God!" Mustang gasped.

Armstrong picked up the little girl. "Relax, she's still alive."

"How could I have let this happen?" Marcoh asked. "Look at her!"

"Mr. Marcoh . . ."

Everyone became silent and turned to Kirina. A blood-stained package fell from her hands. Inside were the sulfur and red phosphorous.

"I . . . made the . . . red one . . ." she whispered, smiling softly with childlike pride. "Told you . . . I knew . . . alchemy. . ."

_I gotta say one thing: I'm so not good with titles. That's why most of my fanfics are named after songs (ex. In the Blue), so this could turn out to be a song -fic (Nah. I'm not that creative.)_

"_Kesenai Tsumi" is a good song, though. (It's the song I'm always listening to when I write a new chapter). My favorite one is "Tobira no Mukune" ("Beyond the Door") by Yellow Generation. Maybe my next fanfics will be called that. . . _

_Another thing. This fanfic may be a bit of a downer. I can't promise that it's going to be super-duper cheerful because I was in a pretty lousy mood when I started writing it, so I apologize in advance. I'll try to make it better, I swear! Please bear with me. (Besides, it's not supposed to be humorous)._


	4. Elixer

"How is she?" Mustang asked.

"It's already been a twelve days, but she still hasn't woken up," Marcoh responded. "I'm guessing that she fell down the cliff." Marcoh buried his head in his hands. "I should've forbid her from going."

"You know she would've just found a way to disobey. She's not a puppet, remember?"

"Don't worry, Crystal Alchemist," Armstrong said. "That child is very strong. I could see it in her eyes. She's tough, so don't worry about her."

"Everyone keeps saying that she's strong, but she's not some hardened soldier!" Marcoh exclaimed. "She's just a little girl."

"Just because she's a kid doesn't mean she's weak."

"Mr. Marcoh, what do I do with this elixir?" a voice asked.

Marcoh's eyes widened. "Kirina!"

Armstrong and Mustang stared at the little girl. Her arms were quivering from the weight of the bowl. She had a thick, white bandage on her head, but she didn't look at all weak. Kirina was grinning like a child eager to learn.

"How did you make this?" Marcoh asked. "What are you even doing out of bed?"

"I did say I was going to do this," Kirina said with a bright smile. "It took me a while, because I was sleepy, but I did it."

Armstrong looked at the elixir. "How did you do this?"

"Huh? Oh, hello, Mr. Armstrong. To make this, I boiled some water and put the crystals in that water. Using alchemy, I made sure that all the toxins and poisons escaped from the crystals so only pure minerals were left behind to form 100 phosphorous and sulfur elixir. After all, it's important to extract the toxins from sulfur because it is very poisonous. Still, a sulfur elixir must never be taken internally because there's still a chance that the toxins weren't removed properly."

"Amazing. How did you know what to do?" Mustang asked.

"I watched Mr. Marcoh perform this ritual with other crystals when he was taking care of me."

"And you're saying you can already control the alchemic effect within your body?"

"I guess so."

Marcoh smiled at her and patted her head. "Rest up. I'll take care of the rest."

"Well, okay, but the next time you're sick, I want you to take care of yourself. Got that, mister?" Kirina scolded, wagging her finger.

Marcoh chuckled. "Yes, I understand. Tomorrow, if you're feeling better, we can start your training."

"You mean if we're feeling better. Get some rest, too. You look tired."

"Okay."

Kirina left the bowl on the stoop and went back inside.

_I'm sooooooooooo not a creative person and I have no one to blame for but myself (Bad, Rioko. Bad.) _

_You could say that it was a down-right miracle that Kirina did survive. Remember she's only a kid. She's five years old and instead of being in kindergarten with a loving family and a cozy house, she's in a war-zone with only Marcoh, Mustang, and Armstrong. Above all, she's a little weak in body. However, she's stubborn. Kirina may turn out to be either like Ed or like Marcoh. Or maybe even both. I haven't decided yet. (I haven't decided a lot of things)._

_I think people also forget that Ed and Al are only kids. When you watch Fullmetal Alchemist, it's possible to forget exactly how old Ed and Al are. They're teens, still kids. Some of you will probably say, "I'm no kid. I'm all grown up!" I've been there because I'm also a kid (I'm about Al's age). But you gotta remember that there are limits to what you can do precisely because you're kids. And whenever I see this show, I get sad because so many people forget that Ed and Al are only kids, including themselves._


	5. Field of Broken Dreams

Kirina gasped with delight. "It's so pretty!" she exclaimed. "What is this place?"

"The Field of Broken Dreams," Marcoh exclaimed.

"It has a sad-sounding name, but the landscape is very lovely."

The Field of Broken Dreams was filled with all sorts of quartz, obsidian, fluorite, citrine, and other shiny minerals and crystals.

"It's all sparkly," Kirina remarked, touching a quartz scepter that was nearly as long as she was tall. "Maybe that's why it's called Broken Dreams. Dreams are considered magical, just like these crystals. But these crystals are all different shapes, sizes, and colors. And they're all broken."

"Yes. Kirina, come over here."

Kirina walked over to the other side of the field and towards Marcoh. She laughed with delight.

"A heart! It's growing out of the crystals," she exclaimed. She touched the smooth surface and giggled. "It's bigger than my hand!"

"This is natural, but very rare," Marcoh explained. "This is a heart-twinning quartz."

"Twinning? What's that?"

"Twinning occurs when two sides of the quartz are growing in the exact same shape at the exact same pace. When they grow to a certain length, they form a shape, such as this heart."

"Wow!" Kirina said wistfully. "I wish I could keep it."

Marcoh smiled. "Kirina, why don't you go take some notes on the obsidian over there and see what you can transmute from it."

"Okay!"

Carefully, Marcoh pried the heart quartz from the stone and drilled a tiny hole in it. Using alchemy, he transmuted a nearby obsidian rock into a flexible, strong thread and threaded through the rock.

"Kirina, come over here, please."

"What is it?"

Taking her hand, Marcoh put the necklace in her hand. "This is for you."

Kirina gasped.

"It's a necklace made from the heart," she said, slipping it over her head. Kirina grinned and hugged Marcoh. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Marcoh laughed. "You're welcome. It's for protection."

Kirina looked confused. "Protection? How can a heart made of quartz protect me."

"I'm going to tech you how to use the piezoelectric effect. If you know how to do it, you'll be able to protect yourself from harm using that stone."

"Oh." Kirina grinned. "So I can draw strength from my heart?"

Marcoh smiled at her. "Yes."

_The idea for the field came from the time I visited the countryside. It wasn't filled with crystals and minerals, but with different colored shale and rocks. It was pretty and so, so magical._

_The reason this memory is short (Just like the last chapter) is because Kirina's memory fades in and out (You read the summary, right?). She'll recover her memory eventually._

_And F.Y.I., I do know a little bit about the piezoelectric effect (Yes, it's real. I didn't make it up.) Quartz crystals are used in some machines to generate electricity. For more information, please visit your local library. _


	6. Horrible Memories

Seven-year-old Kirina watched the experiment with fascination.

"Are you really going to try to create a Celestial Stone?" she asked.

Marcoh nodded sadly. "I really don't want to, though."

"Why? It's an alchemy amplifier, isn't it? You'd be helping a lot of people."

"More like helping them kill a lot of people."

Kirina sighed and sat down. "Mr. Marcoh, is this really necessary?"

"What?"

"This war. It started with a child getting murdered many years before by a State Alchemist. You said the child had been about my age when you first found me." Kirina frowned. "I'm just wondering why it needs to go on. The child was killed and that State Alchemist was executed, correct? It looks like Equivalent Exchange, but I don't think it is. To kill a person just because he killed another doesn't bring the fallen one back to life."

Marcoh sighed and sat down. "They know it's not Equivalent Exchange. That's why there's a war going on."

"And as a soldier, you can only do what is asked of you. I'll help you with this stone. Then maybe you'll finish faster."

Marcoh took Kirina's thin hands. "I don't want your hands to become stained like mine's are about to become."

"So Colonel Gran considers it an Equivalent Exchange for only you to get your hands stained? It's unfair! I know I'm not supposed to be here. I know I'm only a nuisance. Heaven only knows why I'm alive, but the least I can do is help you with your work."

Marcoh smiled and stroked Kirina's hair. "Kirina Miracle, you really are an amazing child."

Kirina's face grew confused. "Huh?"

"Never mind. Listen to me well, Kirina. You must never tell anyone that you helped me with this. I know in the future I'll get into a lot of trouble because of it."

"But---!"

"I'm sorry, Kirina, but please don't protest. I'm glad that you want to help me, but I don't want this to tarnish your future. Do you understand?"

"All right," Kirina said reluctantly. "But I swear I'll pay you back for all your kindness one day. This is just a start. I believe in Equivalent Exchange and understand the concept well enough to know that helping you forge this stone is but a token gesture."

"You don't need to repay me," Marcoh said. "I was glad to help you."

"That's nice, but the law of Equivalent Exchange won't let me forget your many kindnesses."

"You've been studying alchemy for too long."

"I know that, but the first law of Equivalent Exchange is true. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."

"All right. Hand me the red-colored water."

Kirina walked over to where the basin of water was and gasped. Suddenly, she felt very cold and clammy.

_I'm afraid of this water, _she thought. _Why? What's going on?_

Marcoh turned around at the sound of strained breathing.

"Kirina? Kirina, what's wrong? Why are you so pale?"

Kirina clutched her chest and sank to her knees.

"Kirina!"

Kirina heard her mentor's voice, but it sounded far away now. She looked up and saw everything swimming before her eyes. Before her eyes something else appeared. Someone resembling something half-demon and half-human. This being was nearing a very frightened child. Kirina's eyes widened. The child was her!

"No!" Kirina cried, shaking her head wildly. "No, please! No! I'm sorry! I never meant to commit a kesenai tsumi! Leave me alone! _Leave me alone!"_

Marcoh grasped Kirina's shoulders and shook her hard.

"Kirina! Kirina! It's all right. You're safe."

Kirina shrieked and tried to leave. The door swung open.

"What's going on?" Mustang asked. "What's wrong with Kirina?"

"I don't know," Marcoh responded. "I asked her to fetch me something and she just started screaming. I can't get her to calm down."

Mustang knelt in front of her and slapped her.

"Why did you do that for?" Marcoh asked.

"It's okay. I think she's calm now."

Trembling, Kirina looked up. She could see everything clearly now.

"Wha-what happened?" she asked.

"That's my line," Mustang said. "What's going on?"

Kirina frowned. "I could see something. Something dark and scary."

Marcoh sighed. "Why don't you rest, Kirina?"

"But I was supposed to---"

"It's all right. You need your rest."

Kirina nodded. With trembling hands, she sank under the covers of the bed and fell asleep.

Mustang turned to Marcoh. "Repressed memory, huh?"

Marcoh nodded and sat down. "If Kirina remembers what happened to her, it could damage her whole life."

"Give her some credit," Mustang said and sat down as well. "She's a strong kid. There's no way she'll just give in to whatever is haunting her."

"I don't get it. I want to help her. I want to know what happened to her. Whoever harmed her, I want to find them."

Mustang smiled. "You speak as though you're her father and not her mentor."

"She really has grown on me," Marcoh said, smiling fondly at Kirina. "She's like a daughter."

"She's a daughter to everyone here. I don't think I've ever met anyone so helpful. She's like the daughter of people's dreams." Mustang sighed with worry. "You asked her to get that pitcher?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I get the feeling that's the reason why she cried out. Could she have been involved in this little ruse long before you found her?"

Marcoh gasped. "No, it couldn't be . . ."

_Since I read about psychology during my spare time, I can tell you all about repressed memory. Won't that be fun? (Aw, who am I kidding?). Anyway, when you're little and something bad happens, you want it to disappear, right? That's why you tell Mommy and Daddy to make it go away. But if they're not there for you, you repress it. That means you think of something else until that memory is completely gone. In some cases of repressed memory, a person can't remember anything from their childhoods because of repression. Weird, huh? That's the case with Kirina._


	7. Gone

"Mr. Marcoh?" Kirina called. "Mr. Marcoh!"

"Kirina, what's going on?" Mustang asked, knowing full well what had happened.

There were tears in Kirina's eyes. "I can't find Mr. Marcoh. Where is he?"

"Maybe he took a walk?" Mustang suggested.

The tears spilled out of Kirina's eyes. "Why are you lying to me? He left, didn't he?"

"No, of course not," Mustang protested. "Why would he leave you behind?"

"Because he tarnished his hands forging the stone. I should've helped him. Maybe then he would've taken me along with him."

"Kirina . . ." Mustang trailed off and looked away. He couldn't think of anything to say, but then again, he couldn't tell her the truth.

Kirina ran back indoors and came out with a sack.

"Kirina, where do you think you're going?" Mustang asked.

"To find him, of course."

Mustang grabbed her arm. "Don't be ridiculous! You're only, what, nine or ten years old!"

"So? Leave me alone!"

Her last words had more than just one impact. The tears became red and fell on the ground, causing an alchemic reaction that made sharp red quartz wands pop out of the ground without warning. Mustang drew away as Kirina stared at him, half-defiant and half-afraid.

"Don't tell anyone," she pleaded. "Don't tell anyone I can do this."

Kirina turn away and ran away.

"Wait, Kirina!"

Mustang's words were lost. Kirina could no longer hear what was around her. That strange tune that she had heard when she was five came back to her. Yet the only words she could understand were still "kesenai tsumi".

"Inerasable sin . . ."

_That concludes the memories (for now). Next up, the future . . ._


	8. Idle Thoughts

To try and figure out who you are is a very daunting and difficult task, especially when your memories fade in and out. Is it normal to only see glimpses of your past? To have your memories skip from one day to next week? Or is it abnormal?

There is a song here, in my head and in my heart. A song with a loud and vivacious rhythm. The words are complicated and I don't understand their meaning. The words "kesenai tsumi" are heard only once, but the meaning of those simple words is clear: "inerasable sin". Did I commit an inerasable sin? If so, what was it? Who am I? Am I even human?

I can hear the song now. The person who is singing it has energy and is full of passion. What is she saying? The song starts out slow, but suddenly it becomes louder and full of burning passion. Is she asking a question? The musical voice slows a bit. There! There, I hear it! "Kesenai tsumi." The words are said slowly, almost in a sad protest.

The song fades a little. It happens whenever I try to grasp it. When I stop trying, again this woman sings. Who is the woman singing about? What possessed her to write a song about an inerasable sin? Did she also commit an inerasable sin?

The song is gone. It ends suddenly in mid-sentence. I'm left with one simple question:

Did I commit an inerasable sin?

That must be the reason why the song rings in my head so much.

"Kesenai tsumi . . ."

At the moment, I'm sitting under a tree and writing. I get the feeling that there's something I owe and not just to my mentor. Something to apologize for. I need to apologize to someone, even though that someone may not be considered human. Still, it's hard to think of it as not humans. It has feelings. It felt pain, right? Anything sentient must feel pain, shouldn't it? Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe, there's nothing to apologize for. Maybe

_This is a diary entry. The reason it stops at maybe is because . . . well, there's bloodstains on it, so you figure it out. The last paragraph will be made clear in a couple of chapters (or maybe you already figured it out)._


	9. New State Alchemist

A girl rounded the corner and bumped into something hard.

"Oh, I'm sorry," a voice said. "Are you all right?"

The girl rubbed her head. "Y-yes, I'm all right, Mr. . . uh. . ."

She stared at the massive, dark gray suit of armor standing before her. _A guy playing dress-up?_

"Um, I'm really, really sorry for bumping into you," she said. "Please forgive me."

"It's all right. My name is Alphonse Elric."

The girl shook his hand. "Oh, I read about you! You must be the Fullmetal Alchemist."

A frustrated growl startled both of them.

"_I'm _the Fullmetal Alchemist, idiot!"

The girl peered at the boy behind Al. He was blond-haired and golden-eyed. She blinked when she saw something shiny flashing brightly. A chain connecting to a pocket watch.

"Oh, my, you're a State Alchemist?" she asked. "What's your name, little boy?"

"I'm not a little boy! My name is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, and I'm fifteen years old!"

"Really? You're a year older then me, but I'm an inch taller then you. Now, how is it that a puny little one like you became a State Alchemist?"

"I'm not puny, you little idiot!"

The girl frowned. "And I'm not an idiot. God, your temper's shorter than your height!"

"Who do you think you are! Didn't your parents ever tell you to respect your elders?"

The girl looked taken aback for a moment. After a moment, she sighed sadly.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, blinking. "Excuse me."

The girl ran off. Ed and Al looked at her as she left.

"She looked really sad," Al said. "What if she was an orphan?"

"We're orphans, too, but we don't run away with our eyes tearing."

"We're not really orphans, brother. Dad is still out there."

Ed shrugged. "Come on. We need to get back to H.Q."

"Ed, have you met the new State Alchemist yet?" Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang asked during lunch.

Ed put his fork down and shook his head. "There's a new State Alchemist?"

Riza Hawkeye nodded. "Her name is Kirina, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist."

"Just Kirina?" Ed asked. "She doesn't have a last name?"

"Well, she told us her mentor used to call her Kirina Miracle," Mustang said, shrugging, "but we thought that was an extremely corny name, so we decided against it."

"So why is it part of her name?" Ed asked, giving Mustang a pointed look.

"Good question."

"Kirina Miracle," Al said. "That sounds like a pretty name. Don't you think so, too, brother?"

"Kirina Miracle," Ed mumbled. "So the new alchemist is a girl?"

"Yeah, she's kind of young, too," Mustang continued. "She's fourteen, but at least an inch taller than Ed. Maybe more."

"SHUT UP!" Ed snapped. "I've already had someone call me short today, so you . . . uh . . . just shut up!"

"Brother, calm down," Al said, placing his hand on Ed's shoulder. "Colonel, you said she's fourteen. She must be very skilled."

"She's a prodigy in crystal alchemy. She must've been taught by someone who knew all there is about crystals. For the exam, she presented a new kind of stone that she called blue aura."

"She did say she started her training when she was four," Hawkeye said. "maybe that's why she's so good."

"When she was four!" Ed exclaimed. "Her mentor must've been some sort of super-alchemist! Where is she? Where's the Miracle Quartz Alchemist?"

"She's in there," Hawkeye said, pointing towards the library. "Be careful not to startle her. She's a little shy."

"Shy isn't the word," Hughes said. "It's more like she's extremely withdrawn. Oh, and get this. We've given her a whole stack of assignments and she's finished them in three hours."

"She'll definitely make the workload a lot lighter at the rate she's going. Although, she did look a little familiar," Mustang said, scratching his chin. "I know I've seen Kirina somewhere before, but I can't quite remember."

"Now, isn't that odd," Hawkeye said a little sarcastically. "I thought you knew the names of every pretty girl you saw."

Ed stood up and walked away.

"Brother?" Al asked, standing up. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go greet the Miracle Quartz Alchemist," Ed responded, smiling. "Maybe the reason she's so shy is because no one has bothered to do anything besides give her assignments."

Ed knocked on the library door. "Miracle Quartz Alchemist? Are you in there?"

No one responded. Ed tried the door, but it was locked.

"She locked herself in!" Ed exclaimed. "Well, this door won't stay locked for long."

Ed clapped his hands together and then clamped them on the door. With a burst of light, the door swung open. The library was well-lit. All the windows were open. Someone with long, black hair was straining to reach a book.

Al walked over to her and took the book of the shelf.

"Oh, thank---Oh, my!"

"Hey, you're the girl who bumped into Al earlier this morning," Ed said. "What are you doing here?"

The girl backed away nervously. Her eyes were incredibly wide, dark, and shone with a green sheen.

"I'm uh . . . uh . . . the, uh . . . Miracle Quartz Alchemist," she mumbled.

"You! You're the one who's been training since she was four?" Ed exclaimed.

"Yes, I, uh . . . my mentor taught me," Kirina mumbled, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"You didn't seem so shy when you bumped into Al this morning," Ed said. "What's up with this shyness now?"

"I'm not sure of what to do here." Kirina pointed to a stack of books. "I've been studying crystal alchemy so I may be of better service to the State."

Ed made a face. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It's my job."

Al pointed to Kirina's pendant. "That's an interesting stone."

"It's a heart-shaped twinning quartz stone," Kirina explained, taking it in her hand and staring fondly at it. "This sort of quartz is very rare and follows the 'Japan Law' of twinning where two crystals are flattened at right angles and naturally form a heart shape."

"I've always known that quartz was one of the most common crystals, but I never knew that they could grow into a heart shape," Ed said.

"Did you know that some quartz stones are dangerous?" Kirina asked her cheeks pink with excitement. "Cat's eye quartz has traces of asbestos fibers in it. In large quantities, cat's eye can be dangerous."

Ed snapped his fingers. "So that's why the word quartz was added to your name. You know a lot about quartz, don't you?"

Kirina nodded. "It was the first stone that my mentor showed me. Quartz is a very interesting mineral."

"Not really," Ed said. "They're only used in jewelry that wannabe alchemists use to protect themselves."

Kirina shook her head. "Quartz can be used to generate electricity. Using alchemy, I can produce a piezoelectric effect which causes an electric bolt to come out of the stone."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Now wonder you're a State Alchemist."

"Kirina, who was your mentor?" Al asked suddenly.

Suddenly, Kirina became very nervous. "I don't know if I should say. I could get him in a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry," Ed said casually. "We're not snitches. We won't say a word at all."

Kirina shook her head. "I'm sorry. I can't say. I might endanger more people than just my mentor." Kirina grabbed her bag and ran out of the library.

"Kirina, wait!" Al called.

Ed bent over and picked up a dusty, old book that had fallen out of Kirina's bag. The title read _Crystals and Crystal Growing. _Ed opened the book and saw writing on the flap.

"'To Kirina Miracle. I hope this book helps you achieve your goal. With all my love, your mentor'," Ed read out loud. "Ahh, even this doesn't say who her mentor was."

"Brother, did you see them?" Al asked.

"See what?"

"The scars on her arms and legs. They looked like old laceration wounds."

Ed's eyes widened. "Lacerations?"

Al nodded. "I wonder who caused them."

Ed opened the book once more and started to read it. He flipped through it and noticed writing different from the stoic print on some pages. This writing was loopy and a little lopsided, but still readable.

"A diary?"

Al looked at him. "What did you say?"

"I think this is her diary."

"Oh, then we should return it to her." Al ran out of the room, leaving Ed to read. The first few paragraphs of the entry were stained with blood, but the rest was clear.

"' At the moment, I'm sitting under a tree and writing. I get the feeling that there's something I owe and not just to my mentor. Something to apologize for. I need to apologize to someone, even though that someone may not be considered human. Still, it's hard to think of it as not humans. It has feelings. It felt pain, right? Anything sentient must feel pain, shouldn't it? Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe, there's nothing to apologize for. Maybe'"

The entry came to a sudden halt. Ed turned the page. Nothing was written on it except the structure of crystals. The rest of the blank pages were just that: blank.

"'I need to apologize to someone, even though that someone may not be considered human'," Ed read aloud again. "Not human? Could she be taking about a homunculus? And why does it stop suddenly? Why are there bloodstains on this page?"

"Brother!"

Ed shrieked and snapped the book shut.

"What is it?"

"Why were you reading her diary?"

"I wasn't reading it!"

"Then why did you suddenly close the book?"

"I'm trying to learn about crystals, okay?" Ed frowned and opened the book again. "Next to biological alchemy, crystal alchemy is probably the next hardest thing."

"What about agricultural alchemy?"

"Ugh, don't interrupt my thoughts now. Anyway, where is she?"

"She already left."

"Where does she live?"

"I don't know. She hasn't told anybody where she lives."

Ed rubbed his chin. "Hmm, now isn't that weird?"

Al looked up from his gaze on the ground. "What are you getting at?"

Ed considered telling Al what he had read and the bloodstains, but decided against it. He smiled and said. "It's nothing. Never mind."

_Oh, God, I am so, so, so, so , so sorry! I especially apologize to Hiromu Arakawa for making such a stupid mistake. Thank you to the person who caught it. Thank you so, so much!_

_So she finally met the Elric brothers. And like the rest, Kirina mistook Al for Fullmetal. Basic plot, right?_

_The book the Ed picked up does exist, so you might want to go check it out (Why am I recommending books now?). _

_You might have noticed that Hughes is still alive in this. He stays alive. (Didn't I say this doesn't follow the original storyline?). I just hated the episode where he died. It was so unfair. And when Elicia began asking her mother why they were burying her father that just about broke my heart in two. So for the sake of not making this thing more miserable than it already is, I fudged a couple of things and made Hughes alive. (That's not a guarantee that he'd going to keep appearing. He might appear a little later on)._


	10. Red Tears

Ed and Al sat on the floor in the library. Kirina peered at them from the door, shyly.

"You've been standing there for over fifteen minutes," Ed said suddenly.

Kirina gasped and jumped. "Sorry."

"Why are you standing there? Afraid we'll rob your air or something?"

Kirina shook her head and joined them on the floor.

"So why'd you become an alchemist, anyway?" Ed asked.

"I could ask you two the very same question. Could it be that you're looking for something."

Ed smiled. "Probably. What about you?"

"It's a secret," Kirina whispered, a sly smile playing on her lips. "Still, could it be that you two are researching human transmutation?"

Ed and Al gasped.

"You're hollow inside, Alphonse," the girl whispered. "What about you, Edward? What are you hiding?"

"Metal arm, metal leg."

"Ah, so that's how you got your name."

"What about you?" Ed took Kirina's arm. "Look at these scars. What did you do?"

Kirina grinned. "Told you I had secrets. Anyway, what are you researching?"

"The Philosopher's Stone," Al responded.

"Philosopher's Stone? You mean the Celestial Stone?"

"Well, that's another word for it, but in a nutshell, it's always some red thing."

"Edward, why are you researching something so dangerous?" Kirina asked, picking up a book.

"For one, you don't have to call me 'Edward' or Al 'Alphonse'. We're just Ed and Al. And we're researching this stone for our own reasons."

Kirina lowered her eyes. "I see, but don't you think it'll hurt?"

Ed and Al looked up.

"Why?" Ed asked.

"This stone, which is supposed to turn darkness into light, is evil. If you want to forge it, it'll charge you a great personal cost."

Al turned to her. "Have you come in contact with the stone?"

Kirina shook her head. "No, but I know others who have. This stone only brings more and more sadness. And from the look of you two, I'd say both of you have seen your share of sadness already."

"Who cares?" Ed said. "We've been through a lot, but it won't stop us."

Kirina shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, I need to get back to work."

"Kirina, wait," Al said.

Kirina turned around. Al held out a raggedy book.

"My book," Kirina said softly and took it.

"You left it in the library."

Kirina smiled. "Thank you."

Noticing the tears in her eyes, Ed stood up and tried to brush them away. "Hey, a raggedy book is nothing to start crying about."

Kirina gasped and her hand flew to her face. "Don't touch them," she whispered.

With that, Kirina left, leaving the two boys surprised.

"What was that all about?" Ed asked.

Al remained quiet. After a moment, he spoke.

"Brother, did you notice?"

"Did I notice what?"

"Her tears."

"Yeah, what about them?"

"They were red."

Ed's eyes widened. "Were they blood?" he asked, remembering the diary entry.

"I don't know. I couldn't tell."

_You're probably thinking, "Can this thing get even more predictable?" The answer to that is yes. I'm not good at making things scary or gross or building up suspense or causing romance to occur---the list goes on and on--- that I may have to change the genre. Come to think of it, I'm not good at choosing that, either. I'm not good at one single thing (well, I can type and burn food, so I suppose I'm good at that). _


	11. Vacation

Ed and Al were going into the train station for tickets.

"Ed? Al?" a voice asked. "Where are you going?"

They turned. Kirina stood at the door of the train station, clutching a book.

"We're going to ditch Central for a while to visit our hometown, Risembool," Ed responded.

"Risembool." Kirina smiled wistfully. "It's in the country, isn't it? Must be nice. Well, good luck. Have a safe trip."

Al stared at Kirina as she walked away. Without a moment's hesitation, he called out, "Kirina, wait! Would you like to come with us?"

Both Kirina and Ed looked surprise.

"Al, where are we going to get money for her ticket?" Ed hissed.

"From you, obviously," Al responded. "Look at how sad she looked."

Ed turned to Kirina, who looked a little flustered.

"Um, I shouldn't impose," she said. "Besides, I have work here. Good bye."

Ed groaned with disgust and grabbed Kirina's arm.

"Hey!" Kirina cried as Ed pulled her toward the ticket window. "What do you think you're doing?"

"All I here from you is work this, work that. Leave some for the lazy pigs who've been taking advantage of you." Ed turned to the ticket person. "Three tickets to Risembool."

Kirina turned helplessly to Al.

"Don't worry," Al responded. "You'll have fun there. Winry is a very nice girl---"

"Machine junkie is more like it," Ed mumbled.

"--- and she has a grandmother named Pinako who's also very nice."

"But, my work . . ." Kirina said softly.

"Even alchemists need rest, Kirina," Ed said, handing her a ticket with a grin. "We leave in exactly two hours. Go and pack up. And if you try to run away, we'll find you."

For a moment, Kirina still looked confused. Finally she smiled and took the ticket. "All right."

"Are we almost there?" Kirina asked, peering out the window.

"Just a couple more minutes," Ed said.

"Have you ever been to the countryside?" Al asked.

Kirina nodded and turned around. "I've always liked it better than the city, even if the time I spent there was a little unfortunate. When I was five, my mentor took me to the Field of Broken Dreams."

Ed and Al gave her a look that plainly said, "Huh?"

"It's a field filled with minerals and crystals," Kirina explained. "All of them are broken, thus the name Field of Broken Dreams. Even if it was a little dangerous and to run your finger on the surface of a crystal meant split skin, it was lovely. All the crystals were sparkling. It was like something out of a beautiful dream. Like you could make a wish in that field and it would've come true." Kirina smiled and turned to the brothers. "Have either of you ever had a dream that came true?"

"Not really," Ed responded. "Most of the time I don't even dream. Can't speak for Al, though. I don't know if he dreams or not."

"Do you dream, Al?" Kirina asked.

Al seemed to want to respond, but at that moment, the train stopped.

"We're here," Al said instead.

Kirina gasped with delight once they got outside.

"The air! It smells so pure, not like putrid city air or gunpowder. I don't think I've ever seen anything greener than this landscape. Oh, and what a wondrous blue sky!"

"She sure is making a big deal out of a boring little town," Ed mumbled.

"Thank you!" Kirina said, managing to give both boys a big hug. "I'm so glad you brought me here. It's remarkable! If you ever need me to do any work or anything at all, I hope you'll let me know."

"Kirina, you don't have to worry about work here," Al said. "Just relax and enjoy yourself."

Kirina grinned. "Okay!"

All the way through Risembool, Kirina stopped once in a while to marvel at the sights. By the time they got to the Rockbell home, the sun was setting and everything looked like it was being bathed in golden light.

Ed knocked on the door and Pinako answered.

"Hello, boys. Still short, huh, Ed?"

Ed was about to yell, but Pinako shushed him and walked toward Kirina.

"These boys didn't mention that they were bringing a friend. Who are you, dear?"

Suddenly, Kirina became shy. Bowing her head with respect, she muttered, "I'm Kirina Miracle, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Rockbell."

Pinako laughed. "Just plain Pinako will do. What a pretty name you have, Kirina. Who gave it to you?"

"My mentor."

"And you're also a State Alchemist?"

"Yes, Miss Pinako."

"I see that. Well, come on in."

As Ed, Al, and Kirina walked in, Pinako called, "Winry, they're here and they've brought a friend."

Winry ran down the stairs.

"Hi, guys!" she called. "You didn't destroy yourselves again, did you?"

"Nope, not at all," Ed said. "Oh, Winry, come meet Kirina."

"Kirina?" Winry turned to the shy girl, who was nearly hidden behind Al, and shook her hand. "Hi, I'm Winry, the engineer who designed Ed's limbs."

"I'm Kirina Miracle, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist." Kirina smiled shyly. "You must be a genius, Winry, to have created those prosthetic limbs."

"Well, I don't like to brag, but I am pretty good. Some even call me a prodigy." Winry smiled. "You must be a sort of prodigy, too. You said you were a State Alchemist, right? Just how old are you?"

"I'm fourteen."

"Fourteen and taller than Ed. Hmm, big surprise there."

"She's not taller than me!" Ed snapped, flailing his arms.

"No need for you to get so mad," Winry said and took Kirina's hand. "You can stay in my room, Kirina."

"Okay."

Both girls went upstairs. Pinako turned to Ed.

"I suppose you'll want some food. Well, kitchen's all yours."

Ed grinned. "Thanks, Grams."

"Thanks for letting me take apart your pocket watch, Kirina," Winry said, handing the silver thing back to her. "Ed said I'd break it, but I knew I could fix it."

"Thank you, Winry. It looks even better than ever."

Winry sat at her dresser and started brushing her hair. "So how did you meet Ed and Al?"

Kirina laughed. "I accidentally bumped into Al one day and made Ed mad by saying he was an inch shorter than me."

"Big surprise there," Winry said, rolling her eyes. "Whose idea was it for you to come here?"

"I guess you could say Al. Ed only agreed with him after I said I had to get back to work. Kinda strange, don't you think so, Winry?"

"Not really," Winry said. "I don't think Ed likes being an alchemist. Well, I'm pretty sure he likes it, but he doesn't like being a _State_ Alchemist. He's only doing that for Al." Winry gasped. "Oh, no. Did I say too much?"

Kirina shook her head. "No. They've never told me, but I know. Somehow I knew Al's body was empty." Kirina frowned. "Wait, that's not a very appropriate word for him. His body may be empty, but there's a soul there. A human soul."

"His body made a hollow sound when you bumped into him, didn't it?"

"Yeah. It makes me sad. Al's my age, isn't he? I can't imagine what it would be like to be devoid of most of your senses. I can't even imagine doing a human transmutation. That's practically a death sentence." Kirina yawned. "I can see it in there eyes. Something traumatic must've happened when both of them were younger. Something . . . that made their dreams become broken . . . in more ways than one. . ."

"Yeah, something did. By the way, Kirina, what's your story?"

No one responded. Winry turned around.

"Kirina?"

Kirina was sound asleep. Winry approached Kirina and gasped. She backed away from her, shocked. It wasn't the laceration scars. She had already noticed those when she had grabbed her hand. It was something else.

_Do Ed and Al know this? Does she even know this?_

Winry decided not to say anything. After all, what business of hers was it to interfere in other people's affairs?

_Hi! I'm back again! (You're disappointed, right?). _

_Now, you can tell that all Kirina's been doing is work, work, work and all for the State. No wonder Ed was mad (He doesn't care about it much, remember?). And without further ado, I shall now tell you what Winry was gasping over. It was . . . dramatic pause_

_Oh, gee, I forgot. Oops! Guess you'll just have to keep reading. Sorry._


	12. Questions Without Answers

Winry noticed Kirina staring out the kitchen window the next morning. Both girls had made breakfast and were now washing the dishes.

"Is something wrong?" Winry asked.

Kirina blinked as if she had been snapped out of a trance. "No. Why do you ask?"

"You were staring out the window so intensely. I gotta say, you looked completely out of it."

"Winry, was there ever something out there?"

Winry looked out the window. All she saw was a tree . . . and a pile of ashes.

"Oh, that's where Ed and Al used to live."

"What happened to their home?"

"They burned it down."

Kirina gasped. "Why?"

Winry shrugged. "Don't know. Guess it just brought them too much pain to see it."

"Where are they?"

"Huh? Who?"

"Their parents."

Winry sighed and stared at the soapy sink. "I don't know about their dad, but their mom died when they were little."

"No wonder they look so sad."

"Sad? When?"

"They always do. In their eyes I see many unshed tears, many unspoken words." Kirina smiled at Winry. "You must mean a lot to them."

Winry blushed. "What do you mean?"

"They looked happier once they saw your face. I suppose that means that whenever they want to shed tears or confide in someone, they'll come to you. It must be nice to comfort someone."

"It's not all it's cracked up to be. Ed can be a real pain when he wants to be." Winry's face softened. "But you're right. It is nice to have them confide in me."

Kirina laughed. "Winry, when we're finished with the dishes, would you show me around Risembool? Please? I've always wanted to see the country."

"Sure thing!"

"Thanks for showing me around," Kirina said. "This place is so calm and quiet."

Winry laughed. "That's the country for you."

Kirina sighed and sat down on a low tree branch. "Look at all those stars."

"There aren't many stars in the city, are there?"

Kirina shook her head. "I know what the stars are made of. I know their life cycles, the gases, length, width, all that mathematical crap, but to gaze at a star is like gazing at a huge burning question. Have you ever asked the stars anything?"

Winry nodded. "I asked them a question when I was little."

Kirina turned to her. "What was it?"

Winry leaned against the tree trunk and bowed her head. "I asked them why bad things happen to good people. My parents, Ed and Al, They're all good people, but bad things happen to them."

"I wonder that, too. I've never had any parents. If I did, I forgot them. I only had my mentor."

"Mentor?"

Kirina nodded and unclasped her necklace. "See this? He gave it to me when I was little."

Winry touched the necklace. "It's beautiful," she said softly.

"He said it was to protect me."

"Protect you? He must've loved you a lot then."

Kirina's eyes widened with surprise. "What makes you say that?"

"No one gives you protection just for the heck of it. People only protect those they care about."

Kirina smiled. "I guess you're right. Oh, I almost forgot." Kirina took something out of her pocket. It was a bluish green stone. She handed it to Winry with a smile.

Winry took it. "It's gorgeous! What is it?"

"A stone called blue aura. It's a false stone that I created in a lab from quartz and other crystals."

"You made it?" Winry asked, astonished.

Kirina nodded. "With alchemy and the proper ingredients, I can create any stone I want. That's why I'm called the Miracle Quartz Alchemist." Kirina took out three more stone. "This one's amethyst, though you probably already knew that. I didn't create it, but I did smooth it out. It's for your grandmother. This is a smoky quartz stone for Al. Oh, and this is a chemically enhanced rose quartz. It's for Ed."

"Don't just show them to me!" Winry said. "Come on! Let's show 'em your creations."

_Some of my ideas are derived mainly from superstition (you'll see in the next chapter). Since I'm not creative and don't know a lot about Fullmetal Alchemist, I end up making things up. It's like with Sukinamono wa Sukidakara Shouganai. I really want to see that anime, but it's not available here, so to know what goes on, I rely on titles, episode summaries, and the like. What I don't know, I make up. I was considering writing a fanfiction about it, but don't know much about it to throw something together. Besides, I'm not good at writing shonen ai or yaoi stuff. You should consider looking it up. From what I've seen, it's really adorable and Sora and Sunao are really cute. Boys might not want to look at it because it's shonen ai (and the fact that the idea for the anime came from a game for girls called "Boys Love"), but it's not that bad. It's super-duper cute and Sunao is wonderfully adorable! I think I can describe him. He's got a sweet, innocent face, slightly shy-looking, with long, pale brown hair, and cute darkish brown eyes that look out at you shyly. He's so, so cute I just can't stand it! (Now you think I'm insane, right?)_


	13. Well Deserved Title

Ed examined the rose quartz. "Chemically-enhanced? What does that mean?"

"It means its piezoelectric effect is ten times stronger," Kirina explained.

"It certainly is pretty," Al said, marveling at the yellowish brown stone in his hand.

"This one is also chemically-enhanced. They're all for protection."

"That's a nice thought, dear," Pinako said, "but not all of us are alchemists."

Kirina gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry. I should've made a more appropriate gift for you."

"Oh, my gift is appropriate enough." Winry sighed. "Look at it sparkle. Oh, there's a tiny vein of metal in the middle."

"Well, Ed mentioned that you liked machines. I thought a strip of metal in the stone would be appropriate."

"It's not that she likes them," Ed said, leaning back in the chair. "She's obsessed with it."

"At least I'm not so short that people think I'm still twelve."

Ed frowned and exploded. "Who you're calling short? I'll blow you up with this stone! I'll blow up this entire frickin' town. I'll blow them all up!"

Al held him back. "Easy, brother. You heard Kirina. It's only for protection. And I don't think electricity can cause things to blow up. Uh, can it, Kirina?"

Kirina shook her head. "It depends on the situation."

Ed frowned and looked at the rose quartz. "Still, why'd you have to give me this pink thing?"

Kirina blushed. "It is believed that rose quartz also generates love and calm emotions."

"That's an old fogy's tale."

"Not for those that practice forbidden alchemy."

Ed last his balance on the chair and fell on the floor. "What? You mean the taboo?"

"I met one when I was little. She practiced forbidden alchemy."

A tense, awkward silence followed.

"Okay, up to bed. All of you," Pinako ordered.

"Al? Are you asleep?"

Al sat up. "Why?"

"I keep thinking about what Kirina said. How she met someone who practiced forbidden alchemy. Who do you think it was?"

"I don't know."

"She said she met that someone when she was little. A lot of things happened when she was just a kid." Ed frowned "She's just like us. I wonder if I could do something to help her."

"You won't be doing anything reasonable by staying awake," Al said sensibly. "Go to sleep, brother."

The moonlight filtered into the room and reflected on the rose quartz casting a pink glow on Ed's face.

_She said it was for love and warm feelings. Did she really mean that or was it all a joke?_

"She did earn her title, though," Ed whispered as his eyes drooped. "Huh. You know, when she smiles, her face lights up just like this stone in the moonlight."

_Like I said, I'm not good at getting people to fall in love. (Wait, did I say that?)It's a little awkward for me to write something like that (especially considering the fact that I've never been in love) and no amount of Mars by Fuyumi Soryo or Ceres: Celestial Legend or Fushigi Yugi by Yu Watase can cure that. _

_By the way, creating "false" stones is very possible. And the stone blue aura does exist. It's a stone that was created by . . . uh, well, I forgot how. The point is, people made it and no alchemy was used (well, alchemy is the predecessor of chemistry, so maybe they did)._


	14. Strange Feelings

Pinako looked at Kirina coming down the stairs and then at the clock.

"Well, about time you woke up," she said.

"Sorry," Kirina said. "Good morning, Al. Good morning, Miss Pinako."

"Good morning, Kirina," Al said.

Kirina looked around. "Where's Ed?"

"He's visiting Mom," Al responded.

"I see."

Pinako turned to Kirina. "Where's Winry?"

"Asleep."

"You girls came in pretty late last night."

"We were talking about the stars."

Pinako took a big breath from her pipe. "Don't forget all that heavy talk about alchemy."

Kirina nodded. "When did Ed say he was coming back?"

"Who knows? It's best just to leave him alone with his thoughts."

Noticing the look on Kirina's face, Al said to her, "The cemetery isn't very far. Go north and turn at the river's end. You can't miss it."

Kirina smiled. "Thank you, Al."

"Ed?"

Ed looked up and saw Kirina standing by a tree. He stood up and smiled.

"Hey, Kirina," he said. "What are you doing here?"

Kirina shrugged. "Nothing. Just walking. What are you doing in the cemetery?"

"Just visiting my mom," Ed responded.

"May I meet her? Your mother?"

"Sure."

Ed led Kirina to the grave and sat down in front of it. Kirina sat down beside him.

"Ed?"

"Yeah?"

"What's it like to have a mother?"

Ed turned to her. "Huh? What kind of question is that?"

"I never had a mom."

"Oh. Well, our mom was nice. She took care of me and Al all by herself."

"She must've been a strong person."

"What makes you say that?"

"Your prosthetic limbs and your brother's hollow body. You tried to bring her back to life, didn't you?"

Ed sighed. "Yeah. It was mostly my idea, but Al was the one mainly affected by it." Ed lowered his head shamefully. "Sometimes I think he hates me."

Ed felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Kirina?"

"He doesn't hate you," Kirina whispered softly. "Al could never hate you. Brothers have their ups and downs, but they can never hate each other. And I can tell that Al isn't the sort of person who would hate anybody. He has a good heart. A _humane_ heart." Kirina sighed and placed her head on Ed's shoulder. "You do to. There are so many people out there that look human on the outside, but are pure demons on the inside. Your brothers, merely a soul in armor, and you with prosthetic limbs, are more human than they ever will be."

"You say that because you don't know me very well," Ed mumbled. "If you had seen the things I've done, you wouldn't think so highly of me."

"And you don't know me at all. Ed, tell me something. Those things you did. Were they for your sake or for your brother's sake?"

The question surprised Ed. "For Al, of course."

"Then it doesn't matter. As long as you don't harm anyone, it's okay."

"That's just the thing, Kirina. I did harm other people. It may have been for my brother, but I still harmed them. How can that make me a good person?"

"Some questions are too difficult to answer. And I'm no one to answer such a question. Ask yourself that. Look deep within your heart and tell me if you're a good person or not."

Ed remained quiet for a moment.

"Well?" Kirina asked.

"I don't know. I'm myself, but even I don't know who I really am."

"Neither do I."

Both remained quiet for a long while.

"Kirina, why did you decide to become a State Alchemist?" Ed asked. "I mean, was it to look for your mentor? Or do you have something else in mind?"

Ed turned and Kirina fell against his chest.

"Whoa, hey!" Ed shouted.

Kirina had fallen asleep. Ed stared at her.

_Are her cheeks normally this rosy? And why does my face feel so hot?_

Ed stared at Kirina's eyes. They were closed now, but he could remember the day Al had returned her book. How she had looked like she had wanted to cry.

_Al said her tears were red, but how can that be? She's human, isn't she? There's no way she can be a homunculus like Envy. She's kind and warm . . . and beautiful._

Ed lowered his head onto Kirina's hair. Her hair felt soft against his cheek like a river of smooth, black silk. The sun was setting and it was getting a little cold. Even so, Ed felt himself drifting off to sleep.

_What is this? This bizarre feeling that I get when I get near Kirina. Ever since she gave me that rose quartz---_

"What a touching sight."

Awakened, both alchemists stood up.

"Who's there?" Ed called.

"Aw, did you really have to break the moment?" the same voice asked, the pout evident in the voice. "It was getting so romantic."

Both Ed and Kirina blushed.

"Come out before I force you to!" Kirina shouted.

Before them, a tall, red-eyed woman appeared. She cupped Ed's chin in her hand.

"Wow, you are cute," she said. "No wonder Kimiya likes you."

Ed shivered. The woman's hands were colder than ice.

"You got the wrong girl," Ed said, trying to remain calm. "She's not Kimiya. She's Kirina."

"According to her beloved Mr. Marcoh she's Kirina. But to the ones that nearly killed her, she's Kimiya."

Ed gasped and turned to Kirina. "So Al was right. Kirina, did you know Dr. Marcoh?"

Kirina looked shocked. "What are you talking about? Who the hell are you? Answer me, dammit!"

"You weren't raised very well, were you? I'm Anger."

"Anger?" Ed pulled away from her and stood protectively in front of Kirina. "You're a homunculus?"

"Damn straight. Hey, _Kirina, e_ver hear a song about an inerasable sin?"

"You mean the song with the words 'kesenai tsumi'?"

"That's the one."

The song came to Kirina. The fast-paced rhythm, the words, the melody, the meaning. Kirina shrieked and sank to her knees with her arms wrapped around her. A memory was coming to her. The same one she had when she was seven.

"Kirina!" Ed cried.

Anger held Ed back. "I suggest not getting near her. If she starts crying, it's bad news for both of us, but mainly for you."

"What are you talking about? Is this because her tears are red?"

"So you've seen them?" Anger frowned and knocked Ed down. "At least tell me you weren't foolish enough to touch them."

"She wouldn't let me."

Anger growled and stepped on Ed's metal arm. "Why'd you get involved with her? She's a dangerous thing."

"You leave Ed alone!"

Along with the sudden cry came a huge bolt of electricity.

_I really, really need to finish those chapters faster or people will start to wonder. Well, let me occupy this space and your time with pointless nonsense._

_Another thing I want to see is Kyo Kara Maoh! Animerica called it "Fushigi Yugi . . . with boys. . ." That's what makes it sound so interesting. The only problem is that it's twenty five bucks and I can't even keep track of my allowance. I'm lucky enough to have a Fruits Basket DVD and five Yuyu Hakusho DVDs (six if Fujiko, one of my friends, hadn't lost it. Another thing, all the names of my friends will be changed so as to not reveal their identity. Hope they like the names I picked for them!) Anyway, about Kyo Kara Maoh! You can probably guess the reason I want it. The main character is totally cute! His name is Yuri and he has a cute rival. According to Animerica, it's mainly for teenage girls and fans of innocent shonen ai. That's me! (You probably think I'm gross for liking shonen ai, don't you? Well, that's not the reason I watch it. I watch it for the boys. I just love cute bishonen. Next time, I'll make you a list.) _


	15. Broken Heart

Anger managed to step out of the way just in time. Ed looked up.

"Kirina?"

The heart-shaped pendant was an intense blue color.

_The pendant caused the piezoelectric effect! But that's impossible! The ions in twinned quartz are all negatives, so how could it produce an electric bolt?_

Kirina took a step toward Anger.

"Don't hurt him," she said in a low voice. "I won't permit you to hurt him."

Kirina bit her finger and drew a transmutation circle on the pendant. Again, a bolt of electricity came out, this one larger and more potent than the last one.

_Blood transmutation circles? What's going on?_

Ed stood up and grabbed Kirina. "Let's get out of here."

Kirina blinked as if suddenly awakened from a dream. "Right. What the hell was I thinking?"

Both ran quickly out of the cemetery. At the gate, a huge block of wood blocked their path. Ed and Kirina looked up. Anger was sitting on the top.

"You didn't really think I'd let you go. We need you, Kimiya."

Ed clasped his hands and sharpened his arm. "I told you she's not Kimiya!"

Ed charged at Anger, who disappeared before his eyes. All Ed did was smack into a wooden wall.

"Ed, that's illusory alchemy!" Kirina said.

Ed turned to her, rubbing his nose. "Yeah? Well it sure felt real."

The trees and graves began vanishing. After a few minutes, the sun disappeared, too.

"What's going on?" Ed asked, his voice echoing in the vast emptiness.

"It's illusory alchemy," Kirina responded, walking toward him.

"What?"

"A type of alchemy similar to witchcraft and forbidden. It creates an illusion in people's minds and anything that happens in that illusion is tangible, unless it is broken."

"I've never heard of that. How do you know it? And how is it alchemy?"

"Something must be given to create the illusion. And I know it exists because Khumeia knew it."

Ed scanned the emptiness. There seemed to be no light source, but he could see things in it. He could see Kirina's face and has hand before his face, but that was about it. And the homunculus was no where to be seen.

"Where'd she go?" Ed asked.

A hand grabbed Ed's arm. "Right behind you."

Ed turned around and Anger twisted his arm.

"OW! Hey, don't do that. Winry will kill me if I break my arm."

"So tell her a homunculus did it."

"She'll never fall for that."

Ed noticed Kirina's pendent glowing.

"Duck, Ed!" she shouted.

Ed ducked, but Anger wouldn't let go of his arm. Kirina's electricity broke off Ed's hand.

"You idiot!" Ed shouted. "Winry's gonna kill me!"

Kirina smiled sheepishly. "Uh, oops?"

"Good job, Kimiya. Now he can't transmute quickly."

"I'm not Kimiya!"

Anger vanished and appeared quickly before Kirina. Ed stood up and started running toward her.

"Hey, leave her alone!"

Anger ripped the necklace off Kirina's neck and smashed it with her fingers. Kirina gasped.

"Oops," Anger said, letting the crushed fragments fall onto the ground. "It broke. Now you can't transmute quickly either."

Kirina stared at the broken fragments. She got on her knees and started picking them up.

Anger turned to Ed. "Now that she's busy, I can finish you."

Ed's eyes widened. "What?"

Anger grabbed him and hurled him to the ground. Her right arm transformed into a spear.

"Die," she mumbled and thrust the spear toward Ed's chest.

Kirina looked up. "ED!"

Ed closed his eyes and braced himself for the end. He barely felt someone grab him and faintly heard a scream of pain. Ten seconds paced. Then thirty. Then a minute.

_I thought death was quicker. _

Ed opened one eye and saw Kirina kneeling in front of him. Her arms were wrapped protectively around him. Blood spewed from her back.

"Ed," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Ed heard these bizarre wheezing sounds coming from inside him.

"Ki-Kirina," he gasped.

Anger held the spear up as if inspecting a shish kebab.

"Oh, look," she said, frowning. "Idiot on a stick."

Anger hurled Kirina on the ground. Shuddering, Kirina fell on Ed. She looked up at Ed and apologized once more. Then her eyes closed completely.

"Oh, God," Ed whispered. "Kirina? Hey, wake up. If this is a joke . . . if this is a joke---"

"It's no joke, short stack." Anger's arm returned to its original shape and the illusion started vanishing. "Well, later."

Anger left. Ed was still trying to get Kirina to wake up. He shook her desperately.

"Come on. Wake up! Wake up, Kirina!"

Two tears fell on the pale face. Angrily, Ed rubbed his eyes.

"I need to get her home," he mumbled.

As he strode away with Kirina in his arms, Ed noticed the fragments of her necklace. Carefully, he picked them all up, hoping he hadn't missed a shard, and shoved them in his pocket.

"I'll fix it later," he said to Kirina. "It's the least I can do."


	16. Secrets

"Oh, my God!" Winry gasped. "Ed, what happened to Kirina? What happened to you?"

Ed shoved passed Winry and went inside the house. "There's no time. I'll explain later. Al, could you carry her."

"Ed, what happened to your hand?" Winry asked, grasping the metal stump.

"I told you that I'd tell you later. Al, quit looking at me and get her upstairs."

"Yes, brother."

Al took Kirina upstairs and Pinako followed. Winry grabbed Ed and dragged him into the workshop.

"Okay. Talk. Now!"

"Um, could you fix my hand first?"

"Fine. But talk while I'm working. And don't skip a single detail."

Ed sat down on a chair and Winry took down a tool chest. She took a seat next to Ed and started examining his arm.

"We were talking when this person named Anger showed up," Ed began.

"Anger?" Winry asked, bending Ed's arm this way and that.

"Yeah. She came and started saying stuff. She said that Kirina's real name was Kimiya."

"Kimiya? That's a Greek word."

Ed looked up at Winry. "What?"

"Kimiya is an old Greek word that means chemistry."

"How'd you know that?"

Winry frowned and twisted the wrench to tighten a screw. "Never mind how I know. Keep talking."

"Anyway, I get the feeling that Anger personally knew Kirina. She knew about her tears."

Winry stood up and walked over to a table. "Tears?"

"Kirina's tears are red. Anger also said that it was dangerous for Kirina to cry. What I don't get was the thing she said to me. Anger asked me if I had touched Kirina's tears and when I said no she looked very relieved. She also mentioned that people tried to kill Kirina in the past and if it weren't for Dr. Marcoh, she wouldn't even be alive."

"How strange."

"Well, at least that bit explains her laceration scars. There was one more thing I didn't understand. Anger asked Kirina if she'd known of a song called 'Kesenai Tsumi'. When she mentioned it, I think Kirina lost it."

Ed heard someone sniffing. He looked up and saw Winry's shoulders were shaking.

"Winry, what's wrong?"

Winry started sobbing and quickly his her face in her hands.

"What's going on?" Ed demanded.

"Edward. . ." Winry broke off her sentence and sat down. Finally, when she could speak coherently, Winry told Ed what she had seen a few days ago. The day that they arrived in Risembool.

"Edward, she shouldn't even be alive. It defies all logic, but Kirina's entire spine is made of metal. Even with surgery, something like that isn't even possible."

Ed's body grew cold. "What are you saying?" he whispered. "Are you telling me she's not a human being?"

"No," Winry snapped, rubbing her eyes. "Let me finish. Kirina doesn't have a spine. It was ripped out. I could see the scars in the back of her neck. Scratched into the metal was the word 'kimiya' in Greek letters. Beneath it was the translation."

Breathing hard, Ed sat back down on the chair. He was chilled to the bone at the news. "Her spine . . . had been ripped out?"

The door swung open and Al burst into the room.

"Brother, Kirina's asking for you," he said. "She's really sick."

Ed stood up. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Pinako said that whatever she got hit with was either rusty or full of a powerful poison. Her wound is infected and she has a high fever."

Ed ran up the stairs and burst into one of the spare bedrooms. Pinako looked up at him and shook her head.

"She might not make it," she said quietly.

"No," Ed whispered. "Kirina."

Kirina was breathing hard and her face was sweaty. There were two bright red spot high up on her cheeks, but the rest of her face was pale like the white walls in the room.

"Ed . . ."

Ed took Kirina's hand. "I'm right here. Don't leave me now, Kirina."

"I'm . . . sorry. Please, Ed . . . I'm sorry . . ."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. It was an accident."

Winry and Al walked in the room. Winry took one look at Kirina and turned away. It was too much like when Ed had had a fever. Even he had almost not made it.

Kirina said two more words before drifting off to sleep.

"Kesenai . . . tsumi . . ."

The limp hand fell out of Ed's grasp.

_Hello and how do you do? Anyway, I felt it to be my duty to explain about the human spinal cord to avoid confusion. The spine is made up of several tiny bones stacked together. However, Kirina's spine is made of metal. The reason Winry said that even with surgery, something like that isn't possible because for a spine to be completely made out of metal and be surgically added to one's body would probably damage the nerves that connect to the brain._

_I don't know if most of it is true or not (I'm no doctor.), but some people do have metal rods in their backs. The only difference between Kirina and those people is that they never had their spines ripped out (Well, not as far as I know.)_


	17. Khumeia

Kirina felt something tickle her nose. It was a strong, sweet-smelling odor, not very unpleasant, but it still made Kirina sneeze out loud.

"Are you wake, kid?"

Kirina rubbed her nose and looked up.

"Where am I?"

"My house. I'm Khumeia."

"Khumeia?"

Kirina sat up in the bed she had been laying on. The house was dark and cold, so she couldn't see much. The person calling themselves Khumeia neared Kirina. As they did, the odor grew stronger.

"Achoo, achoo, ACHOO!" she sneezed.

Khumeia drew away. "Are you ill?"

"I don't think so," Kirina said, sniffing. "That odor really tickles my nose, though. It's very unpleasant."

Khumeia frowned. "You are very rude, aren't you?" she snapped, hitting Kirina in the back with her hand.

Kirina jumped. "Ow!" she cried.

"Dammit. Hang on, kid. Lean forward and don't move an inch."

Kirina watched Khumeia reach for a box.

"What are---?"

"Shh!"

Kirina felt some movement and heard the sound of metal and a wrench tightening a screw. After a few minutes, Khumeia nodded and told her she could move again.

"The nerves should be protected now."

Kirina blinked. "Nerves? What are you talking about?"

"Feel your back."

Kirina ran her hand down her back and gasped. "It feels cold and metallic." She drew away from Khumeia. "What did you do to me?"

"Saved you from death. Your spine had been completely ripped out, so I had to fashion a new one made from metal to protect your spinal cord."

Kirina shivered. "My spine . . . had been ripped out?"

"Relax. You didn't look all that gruesome when I found you at an abandoned army base. You know, just all this blood covering everything within fifty feet of you. Still, your spine looked like it had been ripped out with alchemy."

"Alchemy? I didn't know you could harm a person with alchemy."

Khumeia laughed. "You really are stupid, aren't you, kid? That's what alchemy's all about."

"No it isn't!" Kirina exclaimed. "Alchemists help the people. They're not cold-blooded fiends!"

"Oh, then why did they murder all those people in Ishbal?"

"Are you an Ishbalan?"

The woman removed her hood. Kirina could now see that she was indeed an Ishbalan. The red eyes were a dead giveaway.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry about what happened to your people, but you can't say that all alchemy is to hurt people. I know my alchemy isn't."

"You're only what, ten or nine. What could you know?"

"Watch."

Kirina went to the stove and got a bucket of ash and spilled it on the floor.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Khumeia asked and kicked Kirina. "I just cleaned the floor, you little idiot!"

"Just watch." Kirina bit her finger and drew a transmutation circle with a combination of blood and saliva. She clapped her hand once and _poof_ the pile of ash had become a piece of wood.

"Impressive," Khumeia said as Kirina fasten a small rag on her finger. "Why didn't you ask for chalk? Now your finger's bleeding."

Kirina ignored the question. "I want you to teach me alchemy," she said.

"Kid, I'm not alchemist. It goes against my religion."

"You're an alchemist. Your fingers have small cuts on them, meaning you don't use chalk for your transmutation circles either."

"That's because I don't use your kind of alchemy."

"No, you do a forbidden branch of alchemy, don't you?"

Khumeia appeared nervous. "Uh, no."

"You do illusory alchemy." Kirina smiled. "Teach me everything you know."

Khumeia slapped her. "Don't be stupid, kid! Why would I do that?"

"You're a homunculus, an artificially created human being. The blood tattoo on your arm is proof enough."

Khumeia laughed. "Smart kid. Yeah, I'm fake. So what? Now for figuring that out, I'll tell you what the rest of them call me."

This caught Kirina off-guard. "Them?"

"That's cute. You look scared. You're probably thinking, there are more of you? Yeah. There's lots of us out there and we're all named after mortal sins."

"Which one are you? Murder?"

Khumeia raised an eyebrow. "What gave you that idea?"

"Uh, the fact that you haven't stopped hitting me since I woke up."

Khumeia shook her head. "Nah, I wouldn't kill you. I leave that up to the real Murder. Anyway, my sinful name is ugly, so I'm calling myself Khumeia."

"It is a pretty name."

Khumeia smiled. "Tell me why a cute kid like you was found half-dead by a dead person like me. Anyone got a grudge against you?"

Kirina sighed. "I don't know."

_Ah, another flashback. _

_Now this Khumeia person is the same one that Marcoh met during the Eastern Rebellion (See "A Year Later"). Khumeia isn't all mean, but because she's homunculus (guess which one) created from deep human emotions, even the tiniest thing can set her on fire. She angers easily, but she was kind to Kirina from time to time. And there's something else about her that I won't reveal quite just yet because it'll shock you all!_

_And about Murder, it's a guy and his identity may be a spoiler (I don't know. I'm not the one with the entire serious of Fullmetal Alchemist. That's my friend's department. Or maybe it won't be. Maybe it's different)._


	18. Just Like Ed

Kirina moaned a little. Her right hand felt warm and wet. She opened her eyes to see Ed grasping her hand to his face. He looked as if he were asleep

"Ed?" Kirina whispered. "Wake up. Why are you crying?"

Al gasped. "Brother, Winry, she's awake!"

Ed's eyes popped open. Kirina drew in a deep breath. Why were his eyes red and swollen? Had he been crying? And if so, for how long?

"Kirina!" he exclaimed, hastily rubbing his face.

Winry stood up from her chair and hugged her. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alive!"

"What happened?" Kirina tried sitting up, but felt a sharp pain in her back. She winced and fell back down on the bed.

"Don't move," Winry instructed. "I'm not done repairing your back."

"My. . ." Kirina sighed. "You saw?"

The threesome nodded.

"You've been out for a week now," Ed said, smiling with relief. Suddenly, his face became serious. "Kirina, was Anger right? Are you really Kimiya? Did you know Dr. Marcoh?"

Kirina shook her head.

"Come on!" Ed cried. "Why won't you tell us anything? You got hurt saving me."

"I can't tell you. You'll cry."

"I'm already crying, dammit! What difference will more grief make?"

Kirina closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

With a groan of frustration, Ed let go of the girl's hand and stood up.

"Brother?"

Without answering Al, Ed slammed the door shut and ran outside.

"Edward," Winry whispered.

"She's just like my brother, isn't she?" Al asked.

Winry sighed and sat back down. "Ed's more of a pain, but yeah. They are the same."

"Maybe that's why Kirina won't say anything. She did say it would make him cry."

Winry sighed. "Poor kid."

"What's the matter?" Pinako asked Ed.

Ed sat down at the kitchen table. "Nothing. I'm just pissed."

"At Kirina, right?"

"Yeah?"

"Can't blame her. I wouldn't exactly confess anything to you either."

Ed spun around to face Pinako. "What!"

Pinako calmly inhaled and exhaled. "You don't tell her anything, so how can she be expected to tell you anything."

"You don't get it," Ed snapped. "I did tell her!"

"Everything?" Pinako asked with unmasked skepticism.

Ed backed away a little. "Well, not everything."

"Thank you for illustrating my point." Pinako took out a box and started sorting the various odds and ends in it. "You two may be friends, probably more than friends for all I know, but you're still perfect strangers to each other."

Ed frowned. "I want to tell her everything. She seems so trustworthy. But I get the feeling that even if I tell her everything, she still won't tell me a thing."

"Have you considered that maybe she doesn't remember anything?"

Ed's eyes widened. "I hadn't thought of that."

"Before you came bursting in the room, Kirina was talking about other people. One of them was a Mr. Marcoh I believe. Two others were Mr. Armstrong and Mr. Mustang. She kept saying, 'Don't go! Don't go!' What's your opinion?"

Ed smacked his hand on the table. "That bastard! Saying he didn't remember her."

"Careful. Winry finished repairing your hand only yesterday. Don't give her another motivation to hit you with her wrench and knock you down another inch or so."

"Grams, I'm really in no mood for short jokes. I got get back and get some information out of Mustang."

"Why don't you just call him?"

"Because then I can't beat his face in!"

Pinako watched Ed go back upstairs.

"Idiot," she mumbled.

"Al! Al, where are you?" Ed called.

Al poked his head out of the room he and Ed were sharing. "Yes?"

Ed threw a suitcase at him and ran into the room. "Start packing. We're going to get some information out of Mustang."

"But he said he doesn't know Kirina."

"He's a damn liar. Trust me; if Kirina knows him, then he's bound to know her."

"But what about Kirina? She's in no condition to travel."

"Then we'll leave her here."

"Brother, aren't you being unreasonable."

Ed turned to Al and grinned. "This is the most reasonable decision of my life."

It was dark when Ed and Al decided to leave. Al was outside. Ed was still inside.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Al whispered.

"Hang on a sec."

Ed walked down the hall toward Kirina's room and took out the newly repaired necklace.

"I will figure out your past," he whispered. "And I won't ever let anyone hurt you again. I promise."

For a moment, Ed hesitated. Finally, he leaned over and kissed Kirina.

"Good bye," he said softly and left.

"Wait," a voice said faintly.

Ed turned around. "Kirina?"

Kirina sat up slowly. "You're leaving?"

Ed nodded.

"Back to being a dog of the military?"

Ed smiled. "Guess so."

"Were you scared?"

Ed blinked, caught a little off guard. "Scared?"

"In that place with Anger. Were you scared?"

"Of course." Ed sat at the edge of the bed. "Were you scared?"

Kirina nodded. "It was scary. Dark and semi-lonely. Why do you think she attacked us? Is it because I'm a bitch of the military?"

"Don't say that. You're nothing like that."

"If military personal are considered dogs, then I must be a bitch because I'm a female dog." Kirina frowned and turned to Ed. "Besides, what would you know? You're not the one trying to make up for misdeeds!"

Ed's eyes widened with surprise and hurt. "Kirina . . ."

Kirina sighed and stared at her hands. "I'm so sorry. That was unfair of me. Well, if you're going to leave, you better go now. I'm sure your brother is waiting."

Ed stood up. "All right. Well . . . see you later."

Kirina nodded and sank back beneath the covers.

"Kirina, just one question."

"What?"

"Why did you protect me?"

Kirina yawned softly. "I didn't want to see your brother cry."

"What about that song?"

Kirina started to sing it. Each time she said a word, her voice dropped a decibel. The word 'darling' became no more than a slight wind, barely audible to the human ear. Ed stood at the doorway, wondering what the words have meant, and then he left.

_I wonder if I should make that list. It would take a couple hundred pages, so I probably won't. In Fullmetal Alchemist, my favorite character is actually Al (What can I say? I like nice guys). Ed is the main guy here because he can identify with the main character, Kirina. There will be a fanfiction in the future that revolves around Al and a girl, but that'll probably take a year since I intend to build up some suspense. (If you reread the summary, you'll figure out what I mean)._


	19. Information

Mustang was reviewing some notes when Ed kicked the door down.

"Ed? Al? Back so soon?" he asked.

Before Al could apologize for the rude entrance, Ed marched up to Mustang.

"Cut the chit-chat," he snapped, banging his fist on Mustang's desk. "What were you hiding? Why didn't you tell us you knew her?"

"Knew who?"

"Kirina! She's was with you during the Eastern Rebellion, wasn't she?"

Mustang's eyes widened. "How did you---?"

Ed pointed his finger at Mustang. "Aha! So you did know her! Tell us everything."

Mustang frowned and shook his head calmly. "I can't tell you."

"Why the hell not!"

"Because I made a promise to Dr. Marcoh that I would never tell anyone about Kirina."

"Dr. Marcoh knew her?" Ed asked, calming down a bit.

"Did you get all that steam out of you? If so, good. I don't have to worry about you trashing this place."

"It does make sense when you think about it," Al said. "For Kirina to be so adept in crystal alchemy, she would have to have been taught by a State Alchemist."

"But it doesn't explain why Kirina's tears are red," Ed said.

"Kirina's tears are different," Mustang explained. "Have you ever seen her use alchemy?"

"Yeah. She doesn't use chalk for transmutation circles, only her saliva or blood."

"That's because the alchemic reaction is contained solely in her bodily fluids. Sweat, saliva, blood, tears, all of it is potentially dangerous if used in her alchemy."

"So that's why she didn't want Ed touching her tears," Al said.

"Bodily fluids? Even---?"

Mustang hit Ed with a book. "Don't be vulgar." Nodding, he continued. "I remember that a while back, when she was only a kid, one of her tears fell on the ground. The ground was said to have sharp quartz beneath it. Boy, did I realize how true that was."

Ed frowned. "She's human, right?"

Mustang looked surprise. "Of course she's human. Why?"

"In Risembool, Kirina got hurt and we realized her spine was made entirely of metal."

"I've never seen that. It must've happened sometime after she left."

"She left?" Al asked.

Mustang noticed. "Dr. Marcoh made me promise to care for her. However, Kirina wouldn't have that. When she was nine, she disappeared, looking for Dr. Marcoh. I hadn't seen her for years and it didn't occur to me that the Kirina who had recently become a State Alchemist was the same Kirina that Dr. Marcoh left in my care."

"Who else knew about her besides you and Dr. Marcoh?" Ed asked.

"Major Armstrong and probably Fuhrer Bradley."

"Good. That's all the info we need."

Ed and Al left.

"Kirina? Yes, I remember her," Armstrong said. "She was such a kind and noble child."

Ed rolled his eyes. _Please don't let him get spazzy. _"What else? Anything weird about her at all?"

Armstrong shook his head, but frowned slightly. "There was one thing."

"What?"

"When she was five, I think, she made an elixir from sulfur and red phosphorous. She told us she had made that red phosphorous all by herself using her blood and for a child who hardly knew alchemy, the elixir that she made was perfect."

"She had been studying alchemy most of her life, then?" Al asked.

Armstrong nodded. "Yes. I knew her when she was five, but she had been at our camp since Dr. Marcoh found her at age four."

"Found her?" Ed asked with surprise. "What's that mean?"

"Dr. Marcoh found her in a ditch, bloody and near death. Over time, he and Kirina became like father and daughter. She was like a ray of sunshine to all of us in the camp. After witnessing all sorts of death and destruction, it was nice to come home to a bright, happy child who would entertain us all."

"What happened to her after the war?"

Armstrong shook his head. "That I can't be certain of. I only know that she disappeared shortly after Dr. Marcoh deserted."

"So I guess she went looking for him then."

Armstrong nodded. "They were very close. It was almost like they were family."

"Thanks, Major."

Ed and Al left and walked down the hall.

"I guess our next stop is Dr. Marcoh's place," Ed said.

Hawkeye noticed them in the hall.

"Edward, you have a phone call for you," she said. "It's from Winry in Risembool."

Ed took the phone. "Yeah?"

"Edward, she's gone," Winry's strained voice said on the other line.

"What!" Ed exclaimed, the color draining from his face. "What do you mean she's gone? Is she---?"

"No. She suddenly disappeared this morning. I checked to see if she was in her room, but no one was there. Only an empty bed and an open window." Winry started sobbing.

"Okay, okay. Calm down, Winry. We'll go back to Risembool as soon as possible."

"I'm really sorry, Ed."

"It's okay. Bye."

Ed hung up.

"Brother?" Al asked. "What happened?"

Ed remained quiet for a long time.

"Brother?"

Closing his eyes with a sigh, Ed responded, "Kirina disappeared."

_This is getting bad (or is it getting good? I guess it depends on your perspective)._

_Anyway, I'm working on two other fanfictions .One is called Motherland. It's a DNAngel one involving love and vengeance and that sort of thing. The other one is called I Will and it's an Inuyasha one about Sesshomaru's first love or something like that. I'm going to end up publishing both anyway (since they're both to-be-continued types), but which one would you like to read first? E-mail me your choice._


	20. Little by Little

I left again. Just like last time. Why did I do something so foolish? The last time I left, I was nearly killed. So why do it again?

Because of a threat. I cannot let anyone get hurt.

There is something wrong with me. Whenever I use chalk, my alchemy doesn't work. But when I use blood or spit, it does. Dammit, who or what the hell am I?

At the moment, I'm alone in a dark room. They have gone and left me here. I don't mind. They tried to make me cry, but it didn't work. I rather enjoy making them angry. It's my only source of entertainment.

My memory when I was little is coming back. Little by little, it comes back. There's only one problem. Little by little, my new memories fade. I don't want to forget my new friends. And I really don't want to forget Ed.

Why is that? Whenever I think about Ed, my heart gets very tight and I have this odd feeling in my stomach. My cheeks become the color of the rose quartz that I gave him.

Is this what is known as falling head over heels in love? Nah, probably not. But what if it is? The love I feel for him is different somehow. How can I distinguish the love I have for my friends and the love I have for Ed? Does he love me? Maybe . . . maybe I do love him. Too bad I can never tell him. If I do, I'll have to tell him my whole past, past and present. If I do, he'll truly despise me.

I think know why "Kesenai Tsumi" rings in my head. If my theory is true, all I can say is "I'm such a dumbass".

Uh-oh. They're coming.

_Another diary entry. Just making sure you know what is what. Well, I guess it's pretty obvious that's this is a diary entry since it's written in first-character narration._


	21. Never Ever

"Well?" Anger asked. "Are you going to cry now?"

Kirina stared up at her defiantly. She couldn't do any sort of alchemy because her hands were bound tightly behind her back. Her cheek was slightly bruised and the blood was still fresh on her lip.

"You know the answer to that," she responded.

Anger sighed with exasperation. "Geez, this is getting very stupid."

"It's been stupid. When did you figure it out?"

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I have no choice. Hey, Lust, come in here."

Kirina looked up at the new homunculus. She was taller than Anger, but very pale.

"Hello," Kirina said.

Lust smiled. "What a polite and beautiful child," she said, stroking Kirina's cheek with her fingernails.

Kirina hardly noticed the warm blood falling down her face.

"So, when do you plan on untying me?" she asked. "I came here of my own free will. It's not like I'm going to run away."'

"We can't be sure of that," Lust responded. "Besides, this way you can't use alchemy, now can you?"

"Look, we both now I'm wasting your time. Why don't you just take my blood? There's plenty of it lying on the floor."

"You know it doesn't work. Now, what is it going to take for you to cry? Do I need to bring the little blond-haired pipsqueak?"

"He's not a blond-haired little pipsqueak. His name is Edward Elric and he's a lot smarter than you think."

Lust chuckled. "That's what that fool of a doctor said."

"Besides, I know what you would do to him. The same thing you did to my parents."

"Ah, you remember?"

"Yes. So if you bring Ed here and try to kill him as well, I'll kill myself."

"And how are you going to do that? By biting off your tongue."

"I mentioned there's plenty of blood on the floor, didn't I? What makes you think I can't just draw a transmutation circle and have whatever comes out kill me?"

Lust smiled. "Well, aren't you the smart one."

"Should I take that as a compliment or an insult, bitch?"

Lust ignored her. She stood up and walked out of the cellar.

"Come along, Anger."

Anger frowned at Kirina.

"Watch your tongue, you stupid kid," she hissed.

"Bite me," Kirina hissed back.

Anger slammed the door shut, leaving Kirina alone in the darkness.

"What happened?" Envy asked.

Lust sighed and sat down on a chair. "She won't do what we tell her to do. She's so stubborn."

"Just like the pipsqueak."

"Yes, but I get the feeling there's something else about her. Anger, you knew her when she was younger. What was she like?"

Anger shrugged. "The same way she is now. Except without her first State Alchemist certification."

This got Lust's attention. "Certification?"

"She probably doesn't remember it, but Kirina became an unofficial State Alchemist when she was seven. It had something to do with the war."

"What idiots," Envy said, laughing. "Putting a little girl like her on the battlefield."

Lust turned to Anger. "Anger, why don't you go and sing to her?"

Anger nodded and left.

"Lust, when can I eat her?" Gluttony asked.

"You know you can't do that. Her mother would kill us if we let you eat her."

Envy rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Like she'd ever have the guts to. Besides, do the words 'not human' mean anything to her?"

"Of course they do. After all, the girl's mother is not human herself."

_So there you have it. Kirina's mother is not human and she's obviously still among the living. And she's a lot closer than Kirina thinks. The next few chapters will be a great disappointment. Oh, and it may cause sadness for Ed._


	22. Indelible Sin

I'm looking up at the ceiling. Huh, if this is the basement, why can I see the sky? It's strange. How can a simple color be so blinding? Why does it captivate my mind? Such a bright, blinding blue.

"Ano hi ushinatta aijou ni setsunasa wo oboe

Boku wa senmei na kono sora no aosa ni sukoshi tomadotte."

Those words just suddenly came out of my mouth. I understand them and somehow I know they're from a song. A song about an inerasable sin.

"I remember the painfulness of the love I lost back then

I'm a little perplexed by the vivid blueness of this sky."

Why is this? Why are all these thoughts coursing through my brain? The song and that need to apologize. Why? What did I do?

I think I hear a sound. Yeah, the sound of a slight, rhythmic tapping against a wall. Odd, it sounds familiar.

"With you in my usual sight, I can breath

Even though that's already plenty enough to me . . ."

For some reason, my heart is starting to pound.

"Stop," I whisper.

The singing grows louder.

"The petty me does nothing but repeat mistakes

How strong a strength do I need to have so that nothing will get hurt? Without hesitation, I believe in this love and live on . . ."

Images swim before my eyes. I shut my eyes tight, but these are mental images. There's nothing I can do to block them. I want to cover my ears, but my hands wont' budge. One is holding the book open and the other is moving this pen. Why? Why do I continue to write this song? Why do I continue writing?

Stop! Whoever is singing, please, I beg you to stop! I'll do anything! I'll cry if you just stop singing that song!

"I'll tightly embrace your unbandaged wound

And together we'll keep on walking, because we can't go back

Even now, the inerasable sin deep in my chest hurts, but . . ."

That's what I did! I did do something like that. That's why . . . I can't see very well. I can't see my writing. Oh, so dizzy. What's happening?

"Darling . . ."

"_Kesenai Tsumi" has so many translations it's hard to decide which ones to use. There's "Indelible Sin", "Undeniable Sin", "Unerasable Sin", and, of course, "Inerasable Sin". I decided on "indelible" for this chapter because that's the main translation anyway. And it's what "non-erasable" means._


	23. Who Are You?

"There aren't any signs of a break-in," Mustang said. "Nor of a struggle. You haven't touched this room since she disappeared, right?"

Mustang and Armstrong were at the Rockbell home along with Ed an Al. Winry and Pinako were standing in the doorway.

"It's just the way it was when she disappeared yesterday," Winry said. "Right, Grandma?"

"She's right," Pinako responded.

"Could it be that she left on her own?" Armstrong asked.

Ed gasped. "Why would she do that!"

"There are a lot of things you don't know about Kirina. How do you know she wouldn't do something stupid like you would do?" Mustang asked.

"Well, why would she?" Ed challenged. "It's not like anybody threatened her."

Al spotted something on the floor and bent down to pick it up.

"Brother, it's a letter and it's addressed to you," he said.

Ed took the letter and opened it. "Hey, it's blank!"

Mustang took it. "No, it's not blank. There's writing on it, but you need something to read it with."

"What, a lamp?"

At that moment, the rose quartz stone fell out of Ed's pocket. Armstrong picked it up.

"You need something like this. Kirina created it when she was six. The electricity in the rose quartz causes an alchemic reaction with the type of ink used in writing hidden messages."

Ed took the stone and the letter. "So what do I do with it?"

"Just hold it above the letter. There's a transmutation circle etched on the paper."

Ed quickly scanned the letter. When he was done, he ripped it up and took off running.

"Edward, where are you going?" Winry asked.

"To get her out of there."

Winry turned to everyone else. "Get who out of where?"

Mustang shrugged. "We better go follow him. He may try to do something stupid."

"Kirina knows how to make the Philosopher's Stone without sacrificing humans in large numbers. They are trying to harm her. If you care about her at all, you will follow my directions and get her out. She can't use alchemy in the state she's in. You better hurry, though. The longer you take, the faster the song will restore her memories."

The short letter's words rang in Ed's head as he ran down a beaten, barren path. The place he was running to was an old, abandoned house.

_What does that mean? Will that song Anger asked her about restore her memories? And is that the reason they kidnapped her? Who are they anyway?_

Ed looked up and saw the house. It was large and covered with leaves and rotting garbage. Whoever lived there was long gone. Ed shoved the door open.

"Where's Kirina?" he called.

No one was there but a few pieces of old furniture. Ed walked inside, his steps creaking and echoing throughout the house. He wondered down to the basement. When his eyes become adjusted to the dark environment, Ed could see a figure slumping against the wall.

"Kirina!" he called and rand down the steps, nearly tripping over his feet.

Up close, Ed could see it was Kirina. He shook her to try to get her to wake up.

"Kirina? Hey, Kirina?"

Kirina slowly opened her eyes. She stared at Ed for a long while before talking.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Ed blinked, taken aback. He chuckled and said, "It's me. Ed."

"Ed?" Kirina raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, it doesn't ring a bell."

Ed stared at her, wondering if he had made a mistake. But there was no mistake. After all, no one could mimic her scars. "Come on. You can't say you don't remember me, Kirina. It's me."

The girl shook her head. "Sorry, I think you're looking for someone else. My name is Kimiya Mimosa."

"What?" Ed asked in a whisper. "What? No, no, you're Kirina Miracle, the Miracle Quartz Alchemist."

"Huh? Did you take your medication this morning?"

Ed grasped her shoulders and shook her. "Remember me!" he cried. "Please, just say you remember me!"

"I'm sorry. I do not know you."

The color drained slowly from Ed's face. He slowly let go of Kirina and took a step back.

"No," he whispered, shaking. "You honestly don't remember me? You don't remember Al? Winry? Pinako? Dr. Marcoh?"  
The last name struck a chord in the back of Kirina's head, but it quickly vanished.

"No. Who are they?"

_This happens sometimes when people regain their previous memories. They lose the recent ones, which is why Kirina know thinks she's Kimiya. You know, I almost cried when I wrote this. It made me sad and that's almost impossible because I know what's going to happen so it shouldn't make me sad, but it still did._


	24. Investigation

"This is quite a city," Kirina said as she looked out the window of the car.

"Have you ever been to the city before, um, Kimiya?" Mustang asked.

Kirina shook her head. "Nope. You must've, though. You look like a State Alchemist. Is the driver a State Alchemist as well?"

Hughes turned to her and smiled. "Nope. I work for the military, but I'm not a State Alchemist."

"Oh, what do you do, then?"

"I'm part of the Investigations Department."

"Are they State Alchemists?" Kirina pointed to Ed and Al.

"My brother is," Al said. "I'm not."

Kirin turned to Ed. "Mr. Elric, just how old are you? Twelve? Eleven?"

Ed steamed quietly, mumbling something under his breath.

"Here we are," Hughes said. "You can stay with us, Kimiya."

Kirina brightened. "I can't wait to meet your daughter. She sounds wonderful!"

Ed sighed. Hughes had talked about Elicia for more than half of the car ride and that had been a long, _long _time. Every single minute, a sentence began with, "She's so cute!" or "She's so adorable!" or "She's so delightful!" and so on.

"Okay, everybody out."

"Hughes?" Ed whispered.

Hughes turned around. "What?"

"Find information. Find any information that you can find on female State Alchemists and see if any match up to Kirina."

Hughes nodded and turned back to Kirina. "Okay, let's go."

"What about those three?"

"They'll be fine."

Kirina turned around and gave Ed a pitying glance. Ed scowled and turned around.

"Okay, open up!" Hughes said, knocking on the door.

Elicia opened it. "Hi, Daddy."

Hughes picked her up and hugged her. "How's my cute little girl?"

Elicia smiled at Kirina. "Who are you?"

"I'm Kimiya."

"Kimiya. Does it mean green?"

Kirina looked taken aback. "Why, no. Why do you ask?"

"Your eyes are a pretty color. Like emeralds."

Kirina smiled. "Thank you."

Gracia came out of the kitchen.

"Honey, I'm going to go talk to Mommy now, okay?" Hughes said and set her down on the floor. "You play with her, okay?"

"Want to play with my dolls?" Elicia asked.

She didn't wait for her to respond, just took her hand and let her into the living room.

"This is Mary, Susan, Maggie, Amelia, Annie, and Lulu," she said, pointing to the dolls. She picked up one with yellow hair and bright, green eyes. "Lulu's my favorite. You can play with her."

Kimiya took the doll. "Thank you. I haven't played with dolls since I was little."

"Did your parents buy you dolls?"

"No, they made me dolls. They were alchemists."

"Daddy has friends who are alchemists. He works very hard and sometimes he's not home, but I know he loves me. He spends time with me whenever he can."

Gracia walked toward them. "You'll be staying with us for a while. Is that all right?"

"Yes, Mrs. Hughes. Thank you."

"Mommy, can she sleep in my room?"

"Well . . ."

"Please?"

"All right?"

"Yay!" Elicia grabbed Kimiya's hands joyfully. "We 're going to be sisters!"

"Ed," Hughes said next morning during breakfast.

"What is it?"

"I found something. A girl who became a State Alchemist at the age of seven."

"Seven!"

Hughes nodded. "It was in an old, rusty file cabinet. No wonder no one remembered her. And it's no mistake. The girl's name was Kirina Miracle and she supposedly died during the war."

"Convenient excuse," Ed mumbled, reading the folder Hughes had given him. "Yep, there's no doubt about it. The features are all the same."

"So, what are you going to do now?"

Ed grinned his famous toothy grin. "Investigate on my own."

_Have you ever noticed that Ed shows his teeth a lot? Whenever he smiles, he always, always shows his teeth and it gives him the appearance of an evil maniac hatching a plan. (Well, that's what it looks like to me.)_


	25. Thoughts

"Are you awake?"

Kirina opened her eyes and sat up. She looked down at the little girl who had asked her the question.

"Yes, I am, Elicia," she responded.

"Do you know that Ed looked sad yesterday?"

"Sad? Why?"

Elicia shrugged. "Come on. Let's go and eat breakfast."

Kirina had been asked to stay with the Hughes family. Yesterday already seemed a distant memory. Who had been that strange boy who had called her such an odd word?

"Good morning, Mrs. Hughes," she said, sitting down at the table.

Gracia gave her a sort of weak smile. "Good morning, Kimiya. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, you better hurry. You should've been to work nearly a half hour ago."

Noticing the strange look on her face, Gracia said, "You work as a State Alchemist, honey."

Kirina looked down at the bowl of porridge. "I see. Well, I better go then."

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"No. Thank you, though."

Elicia watched Kirina leave. After she left, she turned to Gracia and said, "Mommy, she looks just like the sad boy."

"Sad boy? What sad boy?"

"Ed. I saw him through the window. He was sitting in a car. Why are they sad? Did they have a fight?"

Gracia smiled a small smile. "You heard your daddy yesterday, didn't you? Kimiya doesn't remember a lot of things."

"She remembered me."

"Yes, but she doesn't remember Ed. That's why they're sad."

"Oh. Well, maybe she should try to remember."

"I'm sure she's trying very hard to remember."

Ed buried his face in a book as Kirina walked into the library. Al noticed this.

"Brother, why won't you look at her?" he asked. "She's still the same person."

"No she's not. She's Kimiya, not Kirina," Ed snapped. "Get that through to your steel brain."

"Is something wrong?" Kirina asked, walking over to them. "Oh, you're the little boy I saw yesterday."

Ed frowned. "Don't call me little boy that I still belong in preschool! I'm fifteen!"

Kirina smiled. "Hey, we're the same age."

"We're not the same age."

"Yes, we are! My birthday was yesterday."

"Just get out of here."

"Brother, don't be so rude," Al said.

"Rude!" Ed pointed to Kirina. "She's the one calling me short!"

"Maybe you should spend more time trying to grow instead of yelling at others," Kirina said, patting Ed's head. "Otherwise, you'll stay short forever."

"Let me add more synonyms," Ed said slowly, his face red with anger. "Short, small, petit, tiny, midget, dwarf, miniature, squat, diminutive, undersized. Am I missing one, _Kimiya_?"

"Gnome? Little? Itty-bitty?"

"That's it! I'm outta here."

Ed stood up and ran out of the library. Kirina turned to Al.

"I didn't mean to hurt his feelings," she said softly.

"It's all right. Ed's just mad because he thinks you don't remember him."

"But it's true. I don't remember him at all. Were we friends or something?"

Al nodded. Kimiya bowed her head with shame.

"Oh, no. I must've mad him fell horrible then."

"It's not your fault. You couldn't help regaining your memories."

Kirina looked up. "It is my fault," she whispered and left.

Kirina ran down the hall. She stopped when she heard someone mention the name Ed had called her. She paused outside a slightly open door and listened.

"Ed left already?"

"Yeah. He went to visit Dr. Marcoh."

_Dr. Marcoh? _Kirina thought.

She listened intently as they described the town and the best way to get there. Kirina left and ran toward the train station.

_I highly apologize for any inconvenience I may have caused anybody during the absence of this fanfic. I'm updating at school, so a lot of words are censored (Sorry!). I hate censoring, but I really don't want to get in trouble, so it must be done. Although I think it's ridiculous, because we read books at school with curse words. Supposedly, those are okay because the characters really would say those words. And we all know Ed would really say a certain word that means someone born out of wedlock because he's said it like a million times! J This fanfic might have to go on hiatus again!_


	26. Precious Beautiful Girl

Marcoh heard a knock on his door. He opened it and saw no one.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Down here, dingus."

Marcoh looked down and smiled. "Hello, Ed. What brings you here?"

"Kirina."

Marcoh's smile faded. "What did you say?"

"The little girl you had with you during the war in Ishbal. You named her Kirina Miracle, didn't you?"

"I know no such girl, Ed."

Marcoh started to shut the door, but Ed stuck his foot in the opening and forced his way in.

"Relax. You sound like I'm the Grim Reaper or someone form your past bent on haunting you," Ed said, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Ed, why have you come here?"

Ed grinned. "To find some information on my dear friend Kirina."

"You know her?"

"Sure. She's a State Alchemist now. And she was one when she was seven, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"I found an old copy of a State Certification. As a matter of fact, I have right here." Ed took out a folded piece of paper. "'Kirina Miracle, Age 7, the Quartz Alchemist.' You know her name's a little different now. She's the Miracle Quartz Alchemists and has been developing 'false' crystals. I have one of them with me."

Ed handed Marcoh the rose quartz. Marcoh smiled.

"She would now how to do something like this," he said. "She was such a smart girl, after all."

"So you did know her?"

"Knew her? She was like my daughter." Marcoh took a picture frame out of a drawer and handed it to Ed. Ed stared at the picture. It was Marcoh holding the hand of a little girl with shoulder-length black hair and green eyes. It didn't take long for Ed to realize the girl was Kirina.

"She was my precious beautiful girl," Marcoh continued, sitting down. "Such a sweet and headstrong girl. When I first met you, you actually reminded me of her. Both bent on the Philosopher's Stone or, as she called it, the Celestial Stone."

"Did you know anything at all about her past?"

"Not a thing. Why?"

Ed stared down at the smiling little girl in the picture. "She recently regained her memories."

"She did? How?"

Ed shrugged. "It think it was a song. 'Kesenai Tsumi'."

"'Kesenai Tsumi'? 'Inerasable Sin'?"

"Is that what it means?"

"Yes. A woman calling herself Khumeia said she was looking for someone named Kimiya. She told me to beware of kesenai tsumi."

Ed looked up, startled. "Khumeia was looking for Kimiya!"

Marcoh looked up and blinked. "You sound surprised."

"Dr. Marcoh, when Kirina regained her memories, she began calling herself Kimiya. That means that this Khumeia person was looking for your daughter."

"But why?"

"She knows how to make a Philosopher's Stone without harming anybody. While we were in Risembool, she disappeared one day. When I found her, she wasn't Kirina anymore, but Kimiya."

At that moment, the door swung open. Kirina, panting, stepped inside.

"What are you doing here?" Ed asked. "You can't just come barging into someone's house, you know!"

Kirina ignored Ed and walked toward Marcoh.

"You," she said. "You look familiar. Who are you?"

_Let's see. I think it was Aki, one of the readers, who mentioned that Kirina's real name has to do with alchemy. Yup, it's true. If you look at those fancy, almost-impossible-to-pronounce words at the bottom of the definition for alchemy, you'll see the name. "Alchemy" could come from several different words and one of them is "al-kimiya", a word that means "the chemistry" or something like that. Khumeia means either "chemistry" or "alchemy" in Greek. By the way, her last name, Mimosa, is not an alcoholic beverage (well, it is, but that's not the meaning here). Mimosas are also plants that have globular flowers and are also known as silk trees. The word comes from the Latin word mimus, "mime". The reason I chose that name is yet to be determined._


	27. Malevolent Beings

For a moment, Kirina and Marcoh stared at each other.

"You really don't remember?" Marcoh asked.

Kirina shook her head. "No," she replied. "The years after my fifth birthday and last week are lost to me. However, you look familiar. Yet, I can't quite put my finger on it."

Marcoh's eyes fell on the quartz pendent. "You still have that?"

Kirina unclasped the pendant and stared at it. "I don't remember why I have this or even if it's mine. I don't know why my spine is made out of metal. However, I do know why I have these scars."

"What happened? To cause the scars, I mean."

"It was dark." Kirina frowned, thinking hard. "I remember that hail was falling. There were no sounds but those of nature. An odd night indeed."

The door swung open. Marcoh and Ed gasped.

"Basque Gran!" Marcoh exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm looking for the pathetic excuse of an alchemist. The one that lost her memories."

"Are you looking for me, sir?" Kirina asked, stepping forward.

Gran turned to Kirina and she gasped. Her eyes grew so wide that there seemed to be no eyelids left. She backed away from the brigadier general, gasping.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked.

"It's him," Kirina whispered, frowning. "He killed them!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"This bastard killed my parents!"

Marcoh turned to Gran. "Is this true?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? There were plenty that I killed. So what if her parents were among them?" Gran walked toward Kirina and grabbed her arm. He scowled at her and twisted her arm. Kirina screamed.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ed demanded, trying to get him to let go of her arm.

"Now I remember her. She is the Quartz Alchemist. The little upstart who everybody loved."

Kirina screamed even louder as her arm made a loud cracking sound.

"Kirina!" Marcoh said and ran toward her. He grabbed her and pulled her away from the brigadier general.

"Out of the way, Crystal Alchemist!" Gran said.

"No. You leave my daughter alone!"

"She's not your daughter! She's a war orphan."

"I've protected her for five years. She is my daughter."

Ed transmuted his arm into a sword.

"Get away from both of them!" he snapped. "What the hell is your problem? Why did you break her arm?"

"Same reason I tore out her spine."

Ed gasped. "What!"

"I hate her. With him gone, I thought I could finally have my revenge on her. Then I found out that Dr. Marcoh left her in Colonel Mustang's care. However, the foolish girl ran away and that's when I got my chance."

_So that's why that entry comes to a sudden halt in her diary, _Ed thought. _And those bloodstains. He was the one who ripped out Kirina's spine._

"You bas!"

Ed charged at Gran, who merely stopped his assault with a fist.

"Want me to show you exactly how I ripped out her spine?"

Gran ripped the back of Ed's shirt and grabbed a handful of flesh.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Ed shouted. "Let go!"

Gran grabbed the bone that protruded out of Ed's back. Ed gasped. This pain was different from the normal burning sensations. This was some sort of paralysis. Ed felt himself go numb and slip to the ground.

"That's how," Gran said, smiling. "Now to finish you off."

A sudden bolt of electricity made Gran stand back. He looked up and saw Marcoh holding a heart-shaped quartz stone.

"Stay away from them," he said. "Stay away from my daughter and her friend. You have no right to take their lives."

"What are you going to do?" Gran asked. "Shock me."

"The obsidian gives the quartz power, making this quartz pendant even stronger than anything Kirina could ever enhance."

"You're saying something that just grew out of a rock can shock me to smithereens."

"Yes, and I'm not afraid to use it. You will not harm them."

Gran smiled. "Next time I come, there will be more damage than a broken arm and a paralyzed boy," he said.

Cackling madly, he walked out the door and left.

"Ow . . ."

"Are you awake?" a soft voice asked.

Ed opened his eyes and saw Kirina staring down at him. Her arm was bandaged and in a sling.

"Yeah, I think," Ed responded, sitting up in the bed. "My back feels kind of sore, though."

"It'll be like that for a few hours," Marcoh said, handing Ed a cup of water. "Do you feel better? Can you sit up? Can you stand?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Brother, why'd you leave without saying anything?"

The water Ed had just drunk went down the wrong pipe as he saw Al across the room.

"Al!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Kirina told me that you were visiting Dr. Marcoh and we got here as fast as we could. Well, Kirina ran all the way here and I couldn't catch up to her." Al walked over to Ed. "Why's you leave without saying anything, idiot!"

"Hey, what's with the attitude?"

"Dr. Marcoh told me that the brigadier general was here and he nearly killed both of you. Ed, why do you always do this? Why do you always try to do things by yourself? One of these days, you're going to get yourself killed and then what? What will happen to me, brother?"

"How is it that you two are so alike?" Marcoh asked, sitting down at a table and staring at Kirina and Ed. "Why do you try such dangerous things that will most likely get you killed? You're only a couple of children. All three of you are only children."

Ed, Al, and Kirina stared at the ground with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Marcoh," Kirina whispered. "I remember you in some sort of detail." She smiled and hugged him with her free arm. "You're my father who cared for me for five years."

"So you did know him!" Ed exclaimed.

"In some sort of detail, yes."

"Sit down, Kirina," Marcoh said, standing up and fetching a stone.

Kirina took a deep, shuddering breath. "The incomplete Philosopher's Stone you forged."

"You're still afraid of this, aren't you?"

"Not much."

"Okay. Hold still."

Kirina closed her eyes as the stone began glowing.

"All done."

Kirina opened her eyes and unwrapped the bandages from around her arm. "Thank you."

"Now, tell me what happened, Kirina. How did you get those scars? Was it human transmutation or were you trying to do something you knew was strictly forbidden?"

Kirina smiled sheepishly. "A little of both."

"Now, Ed tells me you know how to create the stone without hurting anyone. Is this true?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Kirina made a face of pure disgust. "I know you told me not to. The first time I tampered with the stone was when I was about three, I think. The second time was before you left. The ingredients I used to make the semi perfect Celestial Stone were---ugh, I can't even say them. I don't know what's worse: using live human beings or using their remains."

"You did what!" Ed, Al, and Marcoh exclaimed.

"I dug up the graves of people and used their remains to create the Celestial Stone. It was the day before you left, Mr. Marcoh, when I tried it out."

"That must've been some smelly job," Ed said.

"Kirina, where did you get the idea to create the Philosopher's Stone using human remains?" Al asked.

"I figured since the recipe called for live human beings, why not use their remains? Of course, that didn't pan out and that's why I've got this curse with me."

"Your tears, right?" Ed asked.

Kirina nodded. "I don't know how it happened. When you mess up, isn't it more likely to lose than to gain? That's what I thought when I first saw my tears. To be honest, they scared the living heck out of me. They looked and smelled so much like blood, but they tasted salty so I figured they were tears. And that's why they're after me. That's when I understood they were a curse."

"They're after your tears?" Marcoh asked. "But why? What's the use of watching a child cry?"

Kirina paused for a moment and then answered.

"They're the missing ingredient in the Celestial Stone."

The threesome gasped.

"How?" Marcoh asked. "How is that possible?"

"Beats me. I don't understand it myself. I figure there must be some sort of protein or chemical that makes the tears red and whatever it is is the missing ingredient. I tried them out to make the stone and it worked. It was perfect."

"Where is it now, Kirina?" Ed asked. "Where's the stone?"

"I destroyed it."

Ed's face fell. "What? But why?"

Kirina trembled. "Because that's when some of my old memories returned. It was when I was in that abandoned house. I had the stone in my possession and the blood was activating it. It was like a slideshow. Then a voice started to sing 'Kesenai Tsumi' and it all vanished except for the old memories. Now I have half of my old memories and half of my new memories. I still don't know who I am. Am I Kirina Miracle or Kimiya Mimosa?"

Kirina stood up and ran out the door.

"Where are you going?" Marcoh asked.

Ed ran outside and followed her.

"Kimiya, wait! Kimiya!"

Ed lost sight of her. He continued running through the small town until he reached a dark place. The place was undistinguishable. Was it a house or a forest?

"Kimiya?" Ed called.

Ed heard a scream and ran towards it. It was there that he saw Envy, who was holding Kirina. Envy, in the shape of Ed, was threatening to slit Kirina's throat. Kirina stared at Ed, wide-eyed and trembling.

"Let her go," Ed said, trying to sound brave.

"Aw, why should I?" Envy asked. "Don't you think it be fun to watch her die? And she is going to be killed by one of her friends. Isn't that nice?"

Ed clasped his hands to transmute his arms, but Envy drew the blade closer toward Kirina's throat until it was only a paper's width length away.

"I wouldn't come any closer if I were you. Oh, wait. I am you."

Ed stood frozen to the spot he was standing on. If he moved, Kirina would be killed. If he didn't . . . it was definitely a lose-lose situation.

"Follow me."

Envy started walking, dragging Kirina along with him. Ed followed. With each step he took, the temperature seemed to fall. Suddenly, Envy stopped.

"Where are we?" Ed asked. "It's freezing."

"It should be." Envy let go of Kirina and she fell down a dark pit. Ed ran toward her, holding out his hand in a desperate attempt to catch her.

"KIRINA!"

Kirina's screams vanished. Ed stood staring and gasping. Suddenly, he felt someone kick him in the back and he, too, fell. All that was heard after that was a shrill whistle.

_I'm back again! Yay! (Actually, not yay. I have so much homework!) I can no longer check my e-mails, but that's okay in a weird sort of way. So if you want to ask me something, either send me a message or write it in a commentary. Ah, I can't wait for the holiday season. All the giving and warmth of the holiday season melts the ice around the heart. Plus, no school! By the way, if one of you readers said something and I confused it with someone else, I deeply apologize. I can barely remember my own name half the time, so don't feel offended if I forget yours. Sumimasen!_


	28. Desperate Tears

"Ed?" Kirina whispered. "Are you alive?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you?" Kirina held out her hand.

Ed grasped it. "I'm here."

Kirina shivered and drew closed toward Ed. Both held each other close. It hadn't taken them long to realize that they were in some sort of refrigerated cellar. The lights were extremely dim and they couldn't see anything well. What they did fin out was that the room was small, no larger than eight feet and no wider than ten.

"It's freezing. We should stay close together."

"It's probably -19 degrees Celsius and it's only getting colder."

Kirina blew on her hands and rubbed them. "Are they planning on making us human popsicles?"

Ed rolled his eyes. "Cute thought, Kimiya."

"Um, please call me Kirina."

"Okay."

"If we get out of this alive, I'll tell you everything."

"Everything?"

"So they'll be no more secrets."

"Why not now?" Ed laughed uneasily. "I mean, it's not like we'll use up all the air in this place. And maybe our breaths will warm this place up."

"You start," Kirina said.

"Why can't you?" Ed demanded.

"Because I told you to start!" Kirina snapped.

"But it was your idea!"

"Fine." Kirina sighed. "My family and I lived in a small, unknown village. They were both alchemists, even though my mother was an Ishbalan. One day, we were walking and out of nowhere, bullets start flying."

Kirina trembled in Ed's arms and he held her tightly.

"I closed my eyes and when I opened them they . . . well, you know."

"Say it, Kirina," Ed whispered gently. "Get it off your chest."

Kirina swallowed and said in a hushed voice, "Fine. They were dead. Completely dead." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"You tried to bring them back, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh."

"How old were you?"

"I had just turned five."

"And what happened?"

"Uh, I can't remember. It's still buried to deep in my consciousness. But I can assure you that whatever it was probably scarred me for life."

Ed nodded understandably. "Somehow, Dr. Marcoh found you and he raised you and took care of you for a while, right?"

"Yes."

"Then what?"

"I met a woman named Khumeia."

"Khumeia?"

"Yes. I learned more alchemy. Illusory alchemy, which is more like saying I learned witchcraft."

"And?"

"I stayed with her for only a few years. One day, she just disappeared and that's when I decided to become a State Alchemist."

"You passed the written test and everything, didn't you? But why? Why did you decide to become a State Alchemist?"

"It might sound old-fashioned, even stupid perhaps, but I needed to apologize. I wanted to apologize to the homunculi for creating them."

"Isn't that a little insensitive? It's like telling a bastard child 'I'm sorry you were born'."

"It's sad, I know, and perhaps hurtful, but I felt like I was the one who had hurt them. They were only replacements and, as you know, no one can replace anybody. And they can never die. Now you talk."

"My mom died when I was eleven. I guess that's when I got the stupid idea to bring her back, so I convinced Al to help me and what happened is what you see today. The end."

"Tell me the truth," Kirina scolded. "When you saw the homunculus, what did it look like?"

As soon as the words were out of Kirina's mouth, she felt Ed freeze up.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

"It was horrible," he whispered, his voice shaking.

"What was?"

"The homunculi. It stared at me. It stared at me with gaping eyes. It just stared. And stared . . . Oh, God!"

Ed untangled himself from Kirina's grasp and stood up. He walked away from her with his head bowed. Kirina could tell from the little gasps that he was crying.

"Please, don't cry," she said and walked over to him.

Suddenly, her own eyes filled with tears and she began to cry as well. Ed turned around and held her close, sobbing. Kirina did the same. They held on to each other as if the world would crumble if they let each other go.

"Mom wasn't the only one who died. There was also a girl named Nina," Ed sobbed.

"Nina?"

"When I became a State Alchemist, Al and I moved in with Shou Tucker, the Sewing-Life Alchemist. He had a little girl named Nina and a dog named Alexander. And he . . . he. . ."

"Yes?"

"He turned them into a chimera. And then Nina was killed. After that, a serial killer kidnapped Winry. When I went to rescue her, he tried to kill me. And---"

"No!" Kirina cried. "Please, don't say anymore."

"Why?"

"You're only hurting yourself. Let's just stay this way for a while. Just let it all go away."

Both sank to their knees, still holding each other. They cried for a long time, hoping their tears would make their sorrows ebb away.

Kirina opened her eyes slowly, unaware of what was happening. She remembered, though. She was lying on the ground, her arms still wrapped around Ed and Ed's wrapped around her. She found herself face to face with Ed. His face had streaks of ice from the frozen tears and his hair had nearly turned white with ice.

"Hey," he whispered, his breath creating a little cloud. "Morning."

"How long has it been?" Kirina asked in the same whisper.

"Don't know. Can't exactly tell what time it is when no sunlight shines through any windows."

"Can you let go?"

"Can't. I think we got frozen."

Kirina laughed quietly. "If anybody sees us, they're going to get the wrong idea."

Both laughed a little uneasily.

"By the way, if you're still interested in the Celestial Stone, I know another place you could look."

"Where? Tell me."

Kirina smiled. "Maybe I will and maybe I won't."

Ed groaned. "Come on! This is no time for jokes."

"All right. When I was little, a woman named Ekaterina came to us. I can't remember the exact circumstances, but I'm pretty sure that she said that she and her people were also working on the Celestial Stone and that they were almost finished."

"Really?"

"Yes. No joke, Ed, and she was dead serious about it."

"So where did she live?"

"Door."

"What!"

"She specifically said 'Door', but maybe it stands for something. Anyway, I can't be sure of where it is."

Ed sighed. "I'm amazed we haven't died."

"I feel numb, don't you?" Kirina asked.

"Yeah, I can't feel anything. I don't think there's anymore warmth left in us."

Kirina felt herself growing sleepy. She blinked several times, scattering a light dusting of ice that had gathered on her eyelashes. "If we fall asleep one more time, we might not wake up."

"True, but what can we do. We're frozen to the ground."

"I don't know. Are we really going to die here?"

"We can't." Two tears rolled down Ed's face and froze when they even hit the ground. "We can't die. What'll happen to Al?"

Kirina closed her eyes, trying to keep her own tears inside. "We won't die. I swear."


	29. Sealed

Marcoh and Al stopped running.

"What's going on?" Marcoh asked.

"Brother!" Al shouted. "Brother, wake up!"

They had found both Kirina and Ed lying on the ground. Nothing appeared to be wrong with them at first. It was only when they got close to them that they realized something was wrong. Their skin was cold and nearly blue and they weren't breathing much.

"Kirina?" Marcoh asked, shaking her by the shoulders. "Kirina, can you hear me?"

Al picked up Ed and shook him desperately. "Brother!"

"It's all an illusion," a voice said.

Four people stood behind them. Envy, Lust, Gluttony, and Anger.

"They think they're frozen, therefore they are," Envy continued. "We have our own Anger to thank for that."

"Break the illusion!" Al cried. "Please!"

"I can't do that," Anger said. "The illusion is so deep within their minds that even if I wanted to stop it, I couldn't anymore. That's the art of illusory alchemy."

"Illusory alchemy!" Marcoh snapped. "A fancy phrase for witchcraft."

"Yes, it isn't alchemy. It's just what we call it. Nice, right?"

Lust smiled. "We would've just killed both of them, but we needed both of them. Now all we need is the little gnome who cried like a baby."

"What do you need Ed for?" Marcoh asked.

"We have the girl's tears. Let's just say that they had a sharing of feelings. So we no longer need her. However, we need Ed because he's the only one who can transmute it successfully."

"How's he going to transmute anything if he's under a spell?"

Anger shook her head. "Not spell. Illusion. Everyone here is under an illusion."

She whistled a tune and the surroundings changed. It was a large, dark room. An eerie red glow came from one side of the room.

"Welcome to my lab," Anger said. "One way to break an illusion is through song. Sounds can penetrate the ear, but you need a brain to understand their meanings. That's how the so-called 'spell' can't be broken, Marcoh. Everything needs oxygen to survive, even the brain. And these two don't have much oxygen left in them. Not even mouth-to-mouth resuscitation would work on them at this point. They're too far gone."

Lust frowned. "Anger, what did you say? That wasn't part of the plan."

"Plan?" Al asked. "What plan?"

"The plan was to kill the girl and let the boy live," Lust said.

"You've gone too far, Anger!" Envy said. "You knew it was me who wanted to kill him. What right do you have?"

"More right than you."

Envy kicked Anger, who dodged it.

"And you have no right to kill him for something he didn't even know about," Anger said.

Anger converted her arm into a knife and slashed Envy. Envy hit Anger in the face.

"He looks like him and I can't even find him. His son will do. I obviously can't go after can man because he won't spill blood. He won't spill the blood that tortured me into this form!"

Suddenly, Ed's eyes popped open. "What?"

"Brother, you're awake!" Al exclaimed.

Ed stood up slowly and stared at Envy. "What did you say?"

Anger stopped fending off Envy. "How did you break the illusion?"

"Answer me!" Ed continued. "What are you talking about, Envy!"

"None of your business!" Envy ran toward Ed.

A hand grabbed Envy's arm. Envy turned around and someone slashed his arm.

"Loathe told you it's not Equivalent Exchange! _I _told you that it's not Equivalent Exchange!" Anger snapped. "Killing him won't make you human again."

Envy stood up and charged toward Ed. "Even so, I can still have revenge!"

Al grabbed his arm. "You can't hurt my brother because we never knew anything about this. We never even knew Dad, so how can you justify your cause?"

"I told you. Having his blood coursing in his tiny body is enough for me to kill him."

Anger was about to step in, but Gluttony grabbed her.

"If you move even an inch, I'll eat you," he said, his drool already melting her sleeve.

Lust charged at Marcoh. Marcoh took out a red stone and held it up. The transmutation circle etched on it caused a lightning bolt to come out.

"This doesn't concern you," Lust said. "Leave and you might live."

"Then who does it concern?"

"Envy's murder targets and the girl who cries red tears."

Marcoh picked Kirina up with one hand and held her close. "If it concerns my daughter, then it concerns me as well."

_Daughter?_

Kirina woke up in time to see blood being spilled. Marcoh's blood.

"Mr. Marcoh!" she exclaimed.

"It's only my arm. Don't worry. If they were the ones that hurt you, I won't let them hurt you again."

"Hold on a second," she whispered. "Take Al and get out of here. Ed and I will deal with them."

"No! This is the last time you'll behave like an adult. You're still a young girl, so deal with it."

"Then you'd better duck!"

Kirina untangled herself from Marcoh's grasp and pushed him aside. She bit her finger and drew a transmutation circle on the necklace, paralyzing Lust.

"What?" Lust asked. "What did you do? Why can't I move?"

"I'm sorry for who you are. Go now! Go beyond the gate."

The necklace crackled with sparks. For a moment, Marcoh thought he saw an image standing behind Kirina, but it faded quickly, so he figured it must've been his imagination. Slowly, Lust faded.

"Where did she go?" Marcoh asked.

"She's been sealed. Sealed beyond the gate. It's trick a learned with Khumeia."

Kirina turned to Envy. "Touch them and you'll be joining your companion."

Frowning and cursing, Envy backed away from the brothers. Kirina walked over to them.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "Ed, Al, did she hurt you?"

"I'm a guy, moron!" Envy snapped.

"Oops."

"We're fine, right, Al?" Ed asked.

Al nodded.

"Okay. Let's get the hell out of here."

As they began walking away, Envy ran toward Kirina.

"DIE!"

Ed saw this and pushed Kirina out of the way.

"ED!"

"BROTHER!"

Envy, disguised as Ed, smiled. He took the sharp arm out of Ed's back. Al grasped his brother to prevent him from falling.

"Brother! Brother, are you okay?"

"That was . . . dirty," Ed mumbled.

"I missed his vitals. He won't die. By the way, didn't you think it was all a little too easy?" Envy asked, licking the blade. "We wouldn't let you escape."

"Besides, you don't know the way," Anger said. "How can you tell what is an illusion and what is real anymore?"

"And we need payback," Gluttony said. "You killed Lust."

"Al, get your brother out of here," Kirina said. "Mr. Marcoh, would you help me?"

"Yes."

Suddenly, Envy started laughing. He continued laughing even after everyone fell silent. His laughter echoed in the semi-empty lab.

"Did he finally lose it?" Ed asked.

"You don't get it, do you?" Envy asked, still laughing. "Have you forgotten it already? The song we all know and love. Pipsqueak, you remember what happened the last time Anger sang it, right?"

Ed's eyes widened. "No . . ."

"Envy, don't!" Anger shouted.

Smiling, Envy took a deep breath and began singing.

"Itsumo no shisen ni kimi ga ite kokyuu ga dekiru Boku ni totte nara Sore dake de 

Mou Juubun na hazu na no ni."

Almost immediately, Kirina started crying. Then she started screaming, as though the very sounds were hurting her.

"Kirina, what's wrong?" Marcoh asked.

"Stay back!" she shouted. "Stay away from me!"

"But, Kirina—"

"Please, stay away! I'll hurt---AHHHHHHH!"

Anger wrenched herself free from Gluttony's grasp. "Let go of me, fool, and _run!_"

Anger disappeared. Gluttony, however, wouldn't be able to get away in time.

"Chippoke na boku wa kurikaesu ayamachi bakari Dorehodo tsuyosa wo te ni shitara 

Nani mo kizutsukezu sumu no?"

"'All little old me ever does is repeat the same old mistakes'," Ed sang. "'How much strength do I need to come by before I can get by without hurting anything?'"

"Brother, what are you doing?" Al asked.

"I know these words. Somehow, I know them," Ed whispered. "Maybe, if what Anger is doing is all an illusion, then just maybe I may be able to cancel out the effects of the song."

"Mayowazu ni Kono ai wo shinji ikiteyuku 

Fusagaranu kizuguchi mo gyu'tto dakishimete."

"I'm not going to stray, I'm going to trust this love and with it I'll go on living!

I'm going to take these wounds, the ones that will not close, and squeeze them tightly!"

The glass surrounding the eerie glow began to break. A strange glop came out of it, completely surrounding Kirina. The glowing red tears somehow fused with the mysterious substance and her necklace started glowing. A bolt of lightning got out and shot Gluttony. Just like Lust, he disappeared.

"Futari wa aruki-tsuzukeru Ato ni wa modorenai kara Ima demo kono mune no oku Kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo . . ." 

"The two of us must keep on walking since we can never return again.

Even now, deep within my heart, I still feel the pain of this indelible sin . . ."

"Don't!" Kirina cried. "For the love of God, don't sing the next part!"

"Ed, stop singing," Marcoh said. "She's hurting."

"Brother, you better not. She's crying so hard and none of us can approach her."

Ed blinked and stared at Kirina. He could see her standing in the middle of the red goop, hugging herself and shaking with sobs.

_Oh, no,_ he thought. _Did I do this to her? Does that song remind her of her sin and cause her pain? _

"Just one more line," Envy said.

"No. _Don't!"_ Ed shouted.

"Darling."

At that last line, Kirina stopped screaming. She let go of her self and stared dimly at nothing. Her tears glistened on her cheeks as she turned around to face Envy.

"Die," she whispered and an electric bolt came out of the necklace, doing to Envy what it had done to the other homunculi.

The three of them stared at her. Marcoh approached her slowly.

"Kirina?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

Kirina stared at him for a moment. The illusion was fading and everyone was inside Marcoh's home. They had never really left.

"Kirina, say something!" Ed cried and took her hands.

Kirina didn't look as though she were on Earth anymore. She had a very faraway look in her eyes. After a few moments, she turned slowly to Ed.

"How long?" she whispered.

"What?"

"How long before I can get by without hurting anything?"

After that, she just collapsed in Ed's arms, still staring at him with insensible eyes.

_How is everybody? Anyway, you're probably wondering why I decided to make this happen. The truth is, I don't know. I'm not good at making my point across. And I'm especially not good at creating good plots or anything like that. That's why this chapter isn't very well-written. And Loathe is someone that will be appearing in other fanfics. Well, it won't make an actual appearance where it speaks, but it will be mentioned. Loathe has something to do with everybody. And the reason I'm calling Loathe "it" is because I want its gender to be a secret until it actually makes an appearance._


	30. Comatose Mind

"Is she all right?" Al asked.

Ed shook his head. "I don't get it. She's looking right at us, but she won't respond."

The door swung open. Ed, Ad, and Marcoh looked up,

"Anger!" Ed snapped. "What the hell are you doing here? Get out!"

Anger pushed Ed aside. "My daughter," she snapped. "What have you done to my daughter?"

Marcoh stood up. "Daughter? How can a homunculus bear a human child?"

Anger sat down. "I wasn't always a homunculus, you know. Someone had to create me."

"That someone was . . .?" Ed began.

Marcoh gasped. "No. It can't be. She couldn't have---"

"She was the one who caused the laceration scars," Anger said, walking toward Kirina. "My dear daughter. Why did she try to bring us back to life?"

"Us?" Al asked. "It wasn't just you."

Anger shook her head. "My real name is Khumeia Mimosa. Her father is---Never mind. We were killed during the war."

"By the Brigadier General Gran, right?" Marcoh asked. "But why is Kirina so---?"

"She doesn't resemble me because she resembles her father's mother. Most of her traits come from her father's bloodline, including her talent for alchemy."

"So her father was an alchemist."

"Yes. Now tell me what you did!"

Ed backed away from Anger. "Nothing! I swear!"

"You didn't happen to try to sing that song in your language while the song was being sung in Japanese did you?"

Ed looked down at his feet. "Oh, no."

Anger's eyes widened and she grabbed Ed, lifting him off the floor.

"How could you!" she demanded with tears in her eyes. "Kimiya has a fragile memory. That song affects her very strongly and when it is sung in multiple languages, her memories disappear completely, leaving behind an empty, comatose mind."

"So that's why she's not responding to us," Al said. "But how is that possible?"

"Psychology is in a whole other area, even more difficult than alchemy," Marcoh said, taking Kirina's hand. "The human mind is very fragile and difficult to comprehend. With suppressed memory, even the slightest thing can trigger an unpleasant memory, such as the red water when she was little."

"That's not the only thing she could do. If she wanted to, she could use illusory alchemy to show us her memories," Anger responded, shoving Ed down.

"Illusory alchemy?" Al asked.

"It's a forbidden branch of alchemy that has no scientific backing whatsoever. Let me show you proof that I am Kimiya's mother."

Before Anger could do anything, a strained voice started to speak.

"Mother . . ."

Everyone turn toward Kirina.

"Mother. . . Father . . . I'm sorry . . . I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry . . ."

"Don't apologize," Anger said, grabbing her hand. "It wasn't your fault. It was our fault. We were killed. None of it was my little girl's fault."

Watching the way Anger comfort Kirina, Ed truly had to believe that they were related. Anger suddenly reminded Ed of his mother.

"She's like our mom," Al said.

Kirina fell silent. Anger turned to the others.

"We need to get her memory back," she said.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Ed asked.

"Find the entire version of the song."

"Entire version?"

"Yeah? I only know about half of it. It's a song her father and I used to sing to her."

"Why would you use a song called 'Inerasable Sin' as a lullaby?"

"To remind her that everything has its price. She learned alchemy when she was young. She couldn't even crawl when her father taught her alchemy."

"Why did you marry an alchemist? Aren't you an Ishbalan?"

"Love has no bounds. Now, shut up and listen. I don't know where the song is. I don't know who wrote it or where it was created. Now, go look for it!"

"Gee, that's helpful," Ed said sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"Or you could find her father and ask him."

"Okay. Who is he?"

Anger sighed. "I can't tell you."

"And why the hell not?" Ed demanded.

"If he truly loves his daughter the way he always said he did, he'll come on his own."

_So know we know who Anger is. In the last couple of weeks, I've learned some things. When you think of Wrath (the homunculus) you think of that one little boy with thick, long black (sometimes greenish) hair and big, blue eyes that has tried on numerous occasions to kill Ed. However, Wrath's name once appeared as Loathe in a subtitled version of Fullmetal Alchemist. And another name for the sin wrath is anger. Well, as far as I could tell, wrath is when you're angry and vengeful, anger is when you're irritated or annoyed, and loathe is just plain, ugly hate. They're all connected, so there's more than one way to describe a sin. In some cultures, it's even a sin to love (maybe because a little too much "love" can be called lust?). _

_Another thing I've noticed is that the opening theme songs are all very loud and sort of demanding ("Remove it now! Rewrite the history and that unforgettable sense of existence!" Just a little quote from "Rewrite" to get my point across), but the ending theme songs seem pained, like they're crying out, but still strong and hopeful ("I don't have to hold my tears. At the end of sorrows there will be hopes." Example from "I Will"). It made me think of what someone once told me. They said, "Those poor children. So much they have to hide with sarcasm and bravado." They were talking about Ed and Al and it got me really, really sad (again). _

_And here's another. I'm going to have a very tough time censoring the next few chapters (known as the "Regression" chapters). For those chapters, a lot of imagination will be required. _


	31. Family Picnic

A two-year-old girl named Kimiya tapped the crystal jar full of oddly-colored water.

"Red," she said, giggling.

Khumeia picked her up. "Now, now," she said sweetly, brushing the hair away from her daughter's face. "Don't mess around with your father's potions."

"They're not potions, dear," her husband said, picking up the jar of water. "Besides, I'm glad Kimi touched it. You remember the legends about the Celestial Stone. It takes a man, woman, and their child to create it. Kimi might have actually helped me." He turned to Kimiya and tickled her. "Would helping Daddy make you happy, Kimi?"

Kimiya clapped her hands. "Happy, happy, joy, joy!" she sang. "Happy joy, happy joy!"

"Khumi, would you pass me that amphora?"

Khumeia frowned and settled Kimiya in front of some blocks. "I've been telling you time and time again, it's _Khumeia _not _Khumi._ And our daughter's name is _Kimiya _not _Kimi._"

"But Kimi sounds cuter." He tickled Kimiya again. "Don't you like being called Kimi, Kimi?"

"Kimiya Kimi" Kimiya said. "Mommy Khumi. Daddy Bali."

" Bali" laughed and stood up. "See? She inherited her sense of humor from my side of the family."

Khumeia rolled her eyes. "Did she also inherit that annoyingly cheerful attitude from you as well?"

"Well, I know she inherited her rude mouth from you."

Khumeia blew him a raspberry. "Stupid bastard."

Her husband laughed. "You're just as feisty as ever, Khumi!"

Khumeia smiled tolerantly and shook her head. "Just get back to your alchemy."

"All right. I'm going to need both of you to get out of the room for a while."

"Whatever." Khumeia scooped up Kimiya and walked outside.

"Can't believe it worked," Khumeia said, biting a pastry.

"A complete success," her husband said.

Kimiya brought them a ladybug. "Look, Mommy. Look, Daddy. Pretty!"

The threesome was out having a picnic in a field. The grass smelled sweet and the sun shone brightly, but not so bright that it was hot and unpleasant. It was a lovely day.

"Khumeia?" a voice asked.

The family looked up. A red-haired, blue-eyed woman with a girl Kimiya's age was watching them, smiling.

"Ekaterina, hello!" Khumeia said.

"Hi!" Kimiya said to the girl. "I'm Kimi!"

The girl smiled and pushed back her straight, golden brown hair off her face. "I'm Yasuko!"

The little girls laughed and began playing.

"Your daughter looks very healthy," Ekaterina said.

"She's got her mother's health," Khumeia's husband said.

Khumeia punched him on the head. "He's stupid, but he actually did it."

Ekaterina's eyes widened. "Really! Impressive!"

"How's your work over at Door?"

Ekaterina smiled. "We're working on it. Any day now."

Khumeia and her husband nodded.

"Look, Mamochka!" Yasuko exclaimed holding out a bunch of red poppies. "Kimi and me got flowers for you."

"I'm jealous," Kimiya's father said. "You didn't pick any for your old man?"

Kimiya laughed and gave him a daisy. "Daddy not old!"

"Well, we should go," Ekaterina said. "Maybe you'll come visit us soon."

"Maybe by that time you'll be finished working on the stone," Kimiya's father said, laughing.

"Where's your house, Yasuko?" Kimiya asked.

Yasuko laughed. "Beyond the Door."

_You can guess what the next story's going to be, right? _


	32. Human Transmutation

"Did you hear? The alchemist and the Ishbalan died yesterday?"

"Really? What about their daughter?"

"She's still alive, but the poor thing is all alone."

"How did they die?"

"They were gunned down and right in front of the girl, no less."

"Where is their daughter?"

"She locked herself inside the home and hasn't come out since."

"Doesn't she have any kin?"

"The Ishbalans are dying on daily bases. The alchemists probably won't want a child who's half-Ishbalan."

"So what will happen to her?"

"She'll probably end up being dragged to an orphanage."

Kimiya shut the window in an attempt to drown out the voices that kept gossiping about her. She drew the curtains tight; making sure no light entered the room.

"No one will send me to an orphanage," she said. "I will bring my parents back."

Kimiya walked toward the center of the room. It smelled of the ingredients that made up a human.

"How hard can human transmutation be?" she said. "It'll be just like baking a cake."

Kimiya sifted through the ingredients and checked the circles. Everything was in place. She knelt in front of the circle on the floor and clapped her hands on the floor. The circles began to glow.

"It's working!" she exclaimed.

Outside, everyone clustered around the house. It was just beginning to hail, but the townsfolk didn't move. The windows began to shatter and that finally made them step back.

"The girl is attempting a human transmutation!" a horrified voice cried.

"Let's get out of here!"

Terrified, everyone ran as far away from the house as possible. Inside, Kimiya hadn't noticed that everything made of glass was shattering.

"I'm sure it's almost ready."

Kimiya flinched. Something had just quickly slashed her arm. It felt more like an odd pinch, but after a couple of seconds, the scratch started to burn.

"Ow."

Two pinches on each arm. Then four more. Six more. Eight more. Ten more. The pain escalated drastically. Kimiya cried out and stood up. She saw what had pinched her. Hands. Millions of tiny hands. Shards of glass attacked her legs. Screaming and crying at the same time, she fell down. Kimiya tried to stand, but more of the hands grabbed her legs.

"Let me go!" she cried. "Please, let me go!"

The skylight broke and a sharp shard of glass landed on her left foot, severing the toes. After a moment, everything vanished. Suddenly, the light appeared once more. Kimiya blinked. The world was white. Too white.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're here," a voice said.

Kimiya turned and saw someone with wavy honey brown hair staring at her. It was a girl, a very young girl.

"Who are you?" Kimiya asked with a trembling voice.

The girl giggled. "I'm not here and I'm not there, but I'm everywhere. Not human, demon, angel, homunculus, or tennyo."

Kimiya didn't have time to react. The little hands grabbed her and started to drag her towards the gate.

Horrified, Kimiya screamed.

"Help me!" she cried. "Help me, please!"

Laughing, the girl waved goodbye.

"Goodbye, foolish Ishbalan alchemist girl."

Kimiya closed her eyes, willing herself not to look.

_Don't look! Don't look! Don't look . . . _

Kimiya awoke, confused and disoriented. Her arms and legs ached and she couldn't move her left foot. She looked around at the mess she had created. There was nothing that wasn't covered with blood, but that didn't worry her.

"The transmutation. Did it work?"

The smoke hadn't yet cleared. Kimiya tried walking toward it, but every time she put pressure on her left foot, it left her shrieking so she hopped toward the circle.

"Mother? Father?"

"Kimiya?" a voice croaked.

Kimiya smiled. "Mother?"

A hand reached out and grabbed her. Kimiya gasped. The hand had skin clinging loosely to it, like it wasn't attached to the hand anymore, and the fingernails were falling off.

"Let go!"

The hand tightened its grip instead. Two figures rose out of the mist. Kimiya shut her eyes tight and screamed. Another hand grabbed her. This one's hand felt strong and its fingernails sliced deep into her flesh. Kimiya opened her eyes wide and saw blood splurging from her wrist.

"OW! Let go! Please!"

The hands lifted her up in the air and Kimiya got a good look at their faces. The faces were almost exactly like that of her parents. The mother had a very pale face and her hair was slightly longer, but there was a hideous facial scar on her forehead. The skin there was split and blood and some sort of yellow goo fell out of it. The father had a huge, gaping hole where his eye should've been. It was a black void; blood and remains of the eye fell out of the hole.

"Why?" they asked in unison. "Why did you bring us back?"

The mother's hand let go of her arm and grabbed her throat. Kimiya chocked.

"Let me go!"

Kimiya kicked them in the face and the homunculi dropped her. Kimiya landed on the ground with a thud. She scrambled toward the door. The mother hand formed into a hatchet and tried to slice Kimiya. The hatchet narrowly missed her and only sliced off a bit of flesh. Heart pounding, Kimiya rolled over. The father blocked the door. Kimiya attempted running, but couldn't because of her severed toes. Every time she did, she only ended up falling. If she were to run away, she couldn't bend her knees. As difficult as it sounded, Kimiya did run. She couldn't feel the pain shooting through her legs or the blood running down her arms. All she could feel were the tears running down her face and the intense feeling of her heart pounding madly against her chest. The mother chased her around the room with her hatchet arm. Kimiya tripped over a huge shard of glass. She felt a slight wind on her right foot and then something cut through her flesh and bone.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The sound of her screaming didn't even faze the two homunculi. They closed in on her: one with a hatchet and the other with nails sharpened to a very fine and deadly point. Gasping, Kimiya ran toward a window and jumped out of it.

"I need . . . to get away!"

Her steps slowed down and she fell down a ditch. Breathing hard, she looked up, the sun nearly blinding her.

The homunculi were staring down at her.

Sweat mingled with her blood and tears. Kimiya lay perfectly still. Only one thought rang in her mind.

_I'm going to die. _

Trembling, Kimiya closed her eyes. The bright oranges and reds that still shone through faded.

"Itsumo no shisen ni kimi ga ite kokyuu ga dekiru Boku ni totte nara Sore dake de 

Mou Juubun na hazu na no ni

Chippoke na boku wa kurikaesu ayamachi bakari Dorehodo tsuyosa wo te ni shitara 

Nani mo kizutsukezu sumu no?

Mayowazu ni Kono ai wo shinji ikiteyuku 

Fusagaranu kizuguchi mo gyu'tto dakishimete

Futari wa aruki-tsuzukeru Ato ni wa modorenai kara Ima demo kono mune no oku Kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo 

Darling. . ."

Kimiya lost consciousness.


	33. Celestial Stone

Kirina covered her nose.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm going to do this," she mumbled, "but if I make it perfect, maybe Mr. Marcoh will be happy. Then again, he did tell me not to do this. Oh, well. I'll worry about that later."

Kirina stared at the ingredients. There were regular ingredients, but the only ingredients missing were the live humans. All she had were bones, skeletons, a few limbs that still had skin on them, a couple hundred arms, and one skull riddled with bullets. She made a face and shuddered.

"Snap out of it," she said. "It's not like they're still alive. They're just body parts and can't feel any pain."

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the skull. There was something about the way that it stared at her with its empty eye sockets that made Kirina feel extremely uneasy.

_Why did he tell me I shouldn't do this? _Kirina thought.

She recalled what had happened earlier that day:

_"What!" Mustang asked, rising out of the chair so fast that he knocked it over. _

_"I'm going to help Mr. Marcoh create the Celestial Stone," Kirina repeated with a large, proud smile. _

_"No, Kirina!" Marcoh said. _

_Kirina's smile faded. "But why not?" _

_Mustang grasped her shoulders. "Don't you know? The ingredients to make that piece of crap are---!" _

_"Don't tell her!" _

_"Humans!" _

_Kirina's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered. "What?" _

_Mustang let go of her. "Listen. Whenever we alchemists use alchemy, we gain something, but we also lose something. And that something may be something very precious." _

_"Precious?" Kirina walked over to Marcoh. "What does he mean?" _

_Marcoh knelt in front of her so they could see eye-to-eye. "Kirina, it's called equivalency. It's what alchemy's all about." _

_"But I haven't lost anything while using alchemy." _

_Marcoh frowned. "Remember the red phosphorous?" _

_"Yes." _

_"How did you create it?" _

_Kirina recalled the blood it took to create it. "Oh, I see." She stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, it's just---" she balled her little hands into fists "---I feel so useless. There's got to be something I can do." _

_Marcoh smiled and patted her head. "Just do whatever feels right." _

Kirina scowled. "Well, he said I could do whatever feels right."

She bit her fingers, made a large transmutation circle, and activated it. After a few seconds, the bodies disappeared and in their place was a red stone.

"Yay!" Kirina cheered, jumping up and down. "Hah! I didn't lose a thing."

Kirina picked up the stone. Almost immediately, she felt a pulse coming from the stone. It felt like a beating human heart.

"What's going on?"

The stone flashed. Immediately, Kirina drew her hand away from it. She stared at her fingers, which were still bleeding. Kirina immediately bandaged them up and picked up the Celestial Stone. She inspected it. It felt smooth in her fingers, like a stone that had been in a river for a while.

"It looks like an ordinary stone."

The only difference was that it glowed with a strange red light. It felt warm to the touch, but after a moment it shifted to coolness a bit like running water. Kirina stared at the stone and saw her reflection. Blinking, she touched her face and felt something wet. Kirina gasped and stared at her fingers.

"Oh, my God," she whispered, trembling.

Her fingers were the color of blood.

"Wh-what is this? Is this . . . what I lost?"

"Those are the tears of those you killed."

Kirina's eyes widened. "Who said that?"

"Those are the tears of those killed. The ones slain for selfish desires. Those are the tears of those that are now forever bound within this cursed stone."

Kirina stared at the stone. "The stone's talking?" she gasped with disbelief.

"And now, just like before, you shall be forever cursed with this reminder of your horrid deeds."

The stone glowed and Kirina dropped it with a cry.

"It's . . . gone."

The stone had disappeared.

_Not such a good chapter, right? _


	34. Go Back

"Where am I?" Kirina asked.

Her voice echoed in the vast emptiness. It was nothing but a white blur. She stood there and didn't dare to move.

"Kimiya," a voice said.

Kirina turned and saw a girl her age. The girl was a brunette and was missing one arm. Kirina knew who she was.

"Yasuko?"

Yasuko nodded. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, like thirteen years. So, where are we?"

Yasuko laughed. "Believe it or not, but this is the inside of your mind."

Kirina made a face. "Huh?"

"The inside of your mind. I guess you're kinda wondering what I'm doing here. I'm here to make sure you chose the right, path, Kimi."

"And what is the right path?"

"Well, tell me what you want to do first?"

Kirina stared at the ground. "That's the funny thing, Yasuko. I don't know. I mean, the only reason I became a State Alchemist was to search for Mr. Marcoh and those homunculi. But now things have spiraled out of control. Three homunculi nearly killed Ed and just to get the secret ingredient for the Celestial Stone." Kirina blinked and stared at the ground, watching the red tears fall to the blank ground. "So many people hurt because of me. Sometimes, I wish I were dead. I wish it had been me that had been shot, not my parents."

Yasuko walked over to her and hugged her. "Don't be stupid. Have you ever seen a parent grieve over their child? Have you ever seen such despair?"

"I could've looked in a mirror to see despair. Look at me, Yasuko. I'm a mess. I have these scars on my arms and legs, metal toes, and a metal back."

"Don't cry, Kimi. I think the real reason you're crying is because you feel this is your entire fault."

Kirina wriggled out of Yasuko's grasp and shoved her, scowling. "Thanks for restating the obvious! Anyway, if you want to help me choose they right path, I've already decided. I want to stay here."

Yasuko's cornflower blue eyes widened. "Here?"

"There's nothing here that can hurt me. It's quiet and bright and comfortable---"

"Like the inside of a nuthouse!"

"I don't care. I don't want to be hurt anymore."

Yasuko pushed Kirina and---_SMACK! _

Kirina looked up at her with wide eyes. Her cheek was bright red and hurt to touch. "What'd you do that for!"

"Because you were being an idiot!" Yasuko snapped, her eyes resembling a furious sea that was overflowing with water and threatening to spill.

"I don't care! Yasuko, I don't want to be hurt anymore."

"And you think I do? You think I like having this reminder."

"Reminder?" Kirina stared at Yasuko's empty sleeve. "Did you---No, you didn't. You don't mean to tell me that you---"

Yasuko stared at the ground. "I did."

"But the Celestial Stone!"

"I wouldn't dare use it. I only know basic alchemy, Kimi. If you're a flower in full bloom, I'm the seed that has barely been planted. Here's another reason for you to go back."

The whiteness faded a little and produced several pictures. Ed, Al, Marcoh, Armstrong, Mustang, Winry, Pinako, Khumeia, her father---everyone Kirina had known and loved.

"My friends," Kirina whispered with wide eyes. "My family."

With no warning, Kirina started crying. Nothing would stop her from crying now.

She felt Yasuko's arms on her shoulders as she whispered, "Go back. Go back. You can turn around and go back."

"It's not too late?"

"It's never too late. I should know. I am from Beyond the Door after all."

_My favorite chapter of all the regressions. Why? As the old saying goes: That's for me to know and you to find out. And what Yasuko said at the end will make a lot more sense later on (or maybe it won't. I forget. I also forgot that I should be studying!) _


	35. Memories

The glass on the window broke and a rock with a piece of paper tied around it landed on the floor. Ed and everyone else jumped. Anger picked up the rock and opened the piece of paper.

"What does it say?" Marcoh asked.

Anger tossed the paper toward Ed and ran out.

"Where are you going?" Al asked.

Anger ignored them. She saw a shape peering out at her from behind the building.

"Stop, Bradley! Or should I just call you Murder?"

Murder stopped and turned around.

"Khumeia," he said.

Anger ran toward him and gave him a good, hard slap across the face.

"How dare you!" she cried. "How dare you not see her?"

"Khumeia, listen---"

"She's your own daughter, dammit!"

"They can't see me."

"You care more about your damn position than your own daughter, Fuhrer King Bradley? God, you're the lowliest S.O.B."

Murder stared at the ground. "I delivered the song."

Anger crossed her arms. "So I saw."

"Is she all right?"

"At the moment she's comatose. I think it has to do with the psychological strain."

"Poor girl."

"It's your own damn fault for teaching her alchemy! Why did you do that? Why did you put those ideas in my daughter's head?"

"Khumeia, she's not even really your daughter. You're not her mother. You're a living doll."

"And you're the Fuhrer and a living doll named Murder. What's your point? She made us to replace her parents. The least we can do is act like we give a damn."

"How can we act like that if we're not even real?"

"We breathe. We feel pain. We cry. We laugh. We kill. We eat. The only thing we can't do is die. I call that being alive and real."

"She can't forgive us, Khumeia. Don't you remember what we first did?"

Anger sank to the ground and buried her face in her hands. "It's not our fault! We were created in the name of those sins. How could we help it? And that's all the more reason to atone."

Murder put his hand on her shoulder. "It'll be all right, Khumeia. The brigadier general has been . . . disposed of. The other homunculi that were chasing her have been sealed away. She's out of harms way. Once the song is sung, she'll be better. She'll forget all about is."

"I don't want her to forget about us!" Anger wailed, pounding her fists on the earth.

"Don't you think we owe her that much? Do you think it's fair for her to remember all those painful memories? The memories that nearly destroyed her? The time when we were killed, her attempt at human transmutation, and other multiple transgressions into forbidden places. Do you think she really wants to remember?"

Anger didn't respond. She merely began to sob.

"I think she does," a voice responded.

Anger and Murder looked up.

"Al. Ed. What is it?" Anger asked, composing herself and standing up.

"It's not really a decision for you to make," Al continued, ignoring Anger's question. "I understand she created you in an attempt to bring her parents back to life, but that still doesn't give you the right to decide which memories are hers for the keeping."

"There are memories that are too painful to remember. Memories . . . that make us cry," Ed said, thinking of his mother's face. "But pain gives us strength. There are those that don't want to have all their memories, but they're the ones that do know who they are. They know their name, their friends, and their family. The ones that want to remember all their memories are those that can't remember. I guess you have to lose something to just know how valuable it actually is. Even something that seems worthless and painful, like a memory, is worth preserving."

"They're right," another voice said.

"Dr. Marcoh?" Ed asked.

Marcoh walked over to the little group. "Every memory is precious. None are right to forget and none are worth erasing. Although these boys shouldn't really preach about it, since they thought they were old enough to forget. Forget their attempt at bringing their mother back to life."

Ed and Al looked over to the side. It was true. They were trying to put the past behind them and Kirina was trying to reach her past.

"What are you going to do now?" Marcoh asked. "All four of you. What will you do now?"

"I know what I'm going to do."

Everyone turned. Kirina stood there, apart from the group. She had a serious, intense expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, Anger and Murder," she said. "I'm sorry for doing this to you. Mr. Marcoh and Al, I'm sorry for making you worry. Ed, I'm sorry for nearly getting you killed."

"You don't need to apologize for anything," Murder said. "I understand what its like to be young and alone and desperate. Desperate enough to try human transmutation."

"I know I made you to replace my parents, but, sadly, nothing in this world can replace them. Anger, you can't replace my mother's feistiness. Murder, you can't replace my father's humor. And even though you wish to act like my parents and protect me, the decision concerning my memories is for me to make. They're my memories and they're all here. There all in my heart, every single one of them. So my decision is this: I choose to live with every single one of my memories, no matter how painful they are. Yes, I may be only a child and am prone to psychological and mental problems, but I know I'm strong."

Ed smiled at her. _That took guts. _

Kirina wrung her hands. "I really hope you'll accept my apology."

Anger took Kirina's hand. "You really are a good girl, no matter how rude you are. And let me tell you something. Even if we're not your real parents, Bradley and I really love you. After all, who do you think it was who gave you those prosthetic toes? Well, goodbye." She let go of her hand and started walking away. "Let's go, Murder."

The homunculi left. Kirina watched them go.

"Goodbye," she whispered.

Just then, a shrill tune was heard.

Murder turned to Anger.

"Why did you do that?"

Anger faced the sky as it started to rain. "They must forget. Ed, Al, Kirina, they will forget. Only select memories will be left."

"But why?"

"Mind your own business."

Anger closed her eyes and Murder couldn't tell the difference between her tears and the rain that fell heavily. It made it seem as though the entire world was crying.

_Now, I want everyone to remember this. This fanfiction was created _before _I knew the Fuhrer was a homunculus. My friend told me after I had finished this chapter. To make things a little different, I decided to call Pride (the Fuhrer's real name) Murder instead (which is kinda weird because he's more violent in the anime than this fanfic). To be honest, I really thought the Fuhrer was a nice guy in the beginning. He seemed like a sweet, carefree person. Now, of course, we all know he's a homunculus and . . . well, a very, very mean one._


	36. Blank Spaces

Two weeks had passed since the incident, but Ed couldn't stop thinking about it. Large portions of his memory were blank. Finally, he decided to go talk to Kirina and see what she thought.

"I can tell you one thing," Kirina said and looked up from her book. "It's no accident we can't really remember what happened."

"How can you tell?" Al asked.

They were sitting together at a table in a far corner in the library. Kirina sighed and closed her book.

"For one, it doesn't make sense. I don't feel the need to apologize anymore."

"Need to apologize?" Ed asked.

Kirina glared at him. "Don't play stupid. I know you read my diary." Her expression softened. "If I don't have that feeling anymore, I must've apologized. Minds are so complicated. I wish it were easy to break down, just like a base metal or something. Memories are complicated as well."

"Anger must've done something," Al said. "She said she knew illusory alchemy."

"That's right. I bet she made us forget what happened."

"It's still confusing, though." Kirina folded her arms. "Sound is recognized when it penetrates the ear drums. The ear sends information up to the brain to be interpreted and we can identify what sound we heard. And that's a good explanation for me and Ed, but Al, no offense, I'm not sure that this applies to you as well."

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Kirina?" Ed asked, his voice slightly more challenging.

"It's just . . . how can we even begun to figure out how you can speak and hear, Al. Is it all just the will of your soul or what?" Kirina unfolded her arms and laid her head on the table. "Sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I guess I made you feel like some sort of weird alchemical experiment."

"It's okay," Al responded.

The threesome remained quiet for a long time.

"There's something else wrong, isn't there?" Ed asked finally.

Kirina looked up at nodded.

"'Ima demo kono mune no oku kesenai tsumi wa itamu kedo'," she mumbled. "'Even now, the inerasable sin deep in my chest hurts. . .'" "Why?" "Ed, Al, why did you two try to bring your mother back to life?" 

"Because we loved her and wanted to see her smile," Al said.

"We missed her," Ed added

"Ed, remember when I said that you had a good heart and you told me that the only reason I thought so highly of you was because I didn't know you very well and that if I knew the real you, I wouldn't think about you the same way? Well, you were wrong."

"Why?"

"Because you actually had a good reason for wanting your mother back. My only reason for wanting my parents back was pure selfishness and fear of being alone. I didn't know my parents that well and they didn't know me that well. We only knew each other for about five years. How was I supposed to know whether I loved them or not?"

"That's why you wanted to apologize to the homunculi?"

"Yeah. It wasn't fair that I brought them into such a miserable existence just because I was scared of being alone. What's worse, I don't even remember what my real parents look like. When I want to picture them, all I see are the homunculi. It's like when I want to feel the dirt between my toes. I can't. Even though I have prosthetic toes and they work perfectly well, I still can't feel them. When I remember my biological father, all I see is the flash of a transmutation. When I remember my mother, all I see are herbs. I just can't remember them at all, no matter how hard I try."

"Kirina, Ed said that you made the Philosopher's Stone and got rid of it because it was giving you nightmares, right?" Al said. "But why didn't you use it to repair yourself? You know, to make yourself fully human?"

Kirina stared at her hand and traced a particularly deep scar. "To remind myself of the sin. Even if I could return myself to unsullied flesh and blood, I'm sure these scars would still remain." She smiled ruefully.

Ed reached across the table and grabbed her hand. Kirina looked up with surprise.

"Ed, what are---?"

Ed traced one of the scars. The scar felt smooth and bumpy at the same time. It was flesh pink and, like the rest of the scars, stood out from Kirina's normally pale skin. He turned the hand to see the palm. On the fingers were crescent-shaped scars from bits, but the palm was surprisingly smooth and untouched.

"It hurt, didn't it?" he whispered.

"Yes."

"All of the scars, did they occur slowly?"

"At first, yes. Then they happened faster and faster. The faster they occurred, the more they hurt." Kirina's voice became softer and softer until Ed and Al could barely hear her. "They hurt as though someone had poured burning oil onto my flesh. When your leg was taken and when you sacrificed your arm for Al, did it also hurt?"

"Yeah."

Kirina laughed softly. "This is going to sound stupid, but I guess this proves adults right. When they tell you not to do something, it's for your own good."

Ed let go of her hand. "Don't be ridiculous. What would they know?"

"Well, I happen to know we're only kids. We're both fifteen and Al's fourteen now, but all this stuff, this _painful_ stuff, happened when we were younger. But I guess there's nothing we can do now."

"Yep. Just gotta keep living."

Kirina stood up. "Let's get out of here. It's too stuffy."

As they walked out of the library and down the steps. Ed turned toward Kirina.

"Kirina?"

"What is it, Ed?"

"Remember when you asked us if we ever dreamed?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, if you're still wondering, I had a dream yesterday."

Kirina smiled teasingly. "I thought you said you didn't dream."

"Well, I did. And we were all in it." Ed's voice dropped to a whisper. "We were . . . happy."

"Hopefully, it won't only stay a dream.

Ed nodded. "Yeah."

Kirina took Ed's hand and placed a scrap of paper in his palm.

"What is it?" Ed asked, unfolding the scrap of paper.

"Directions."

Ed looked up. "To what?"

"You still want to get you and your brother's bodies back to normal, right? Well, go to Beyond the Door. Find Ekaterina or Yasuko. I'm sure either one will help you."

Ed grinned. "Thanks."

**To be continued in The Land Beyond the Door.**

_And this story comes to an end (more or less). Hope you enjoyed and if you actually read it thanks! The three remaining stories will have the titles of the ending themes songs for Fullmetal Alchemist, so look for them or else! Just kidding. Bye-bye! _


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